


Brooklyn Lights & Boarded Up Windows

by domtommo



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Behavioral Analyst Magnus Bane, Brief Magnus Bane/Others, Crime, Detective Alec Lightwood, M/M, Minor Character Death, minor character injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:41:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 42,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27346012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/domtommo/pseuds/domtommo
Summary: Alec shakes his head to snap out of his momentary daze, “Sorry I um- Alec from the nineteen.” He said hurriedly, sticking his hand out to shake, he hoped the other man can’t see the slight tremor.Magnus chuckled and shook his hand, “That’s right the new detective, I only just got your file this morning so my apologies I haven’t been properly briefed.”“Um- file?”“Oh sorry, I forgot to say, Magnus here is our resident behavioral analyst.”
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 84
Kudos: 288





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Whew, here we go. 
> 
> This story is has a special place in my heart, and it took many months and a lot of motivation to write it so I do hope you all enjoy!! This is my first big work in quite a while so try to be easy on me! 
> 
> It is all mainly written out, so regular updates are to be expected, depending on how well this first chapter does will determine when I post but the gaps shouldn't be too long.
> 
> I'd like to say thank you to Charlie, my biggest cheerleader, and Kim who beta'd and put up with all of my shit.  
> Thank you so much for me giving me the chance to share this!
> 
> em

Serve. Duty. Honor.

It’s what Alec revolved his life around.

From a young age, it seemed these pillars had been drilled into his head by his family, reiterated at every gala, every reunion, every moment Alec was reminded that a Lightwood’s blood  _ always _ ran blue.

The second he left high school his parents had arranged everything, four years at one of the best colleges in the country where he would double major in criminal justice and political science. Upon graduation, he’d be shipped off to the academy and expected to graduate top of his class before pursuing a career at a precinct in their borough. His parents had suggested his end goal should be to eventually rise to the ranks of a police commissioner (or something related) but would settle for his career as an officer or detective for the time being.

So like every Lightwood before him he followed the call. 

He never minded the career, as the oldest he always felt very protective of his siblings, and if he were being honest, he never really felt drawn to anything else. So there he was, a third-year officer for the 19th precinct in Manhattan and content to spend his life laying down the law, serving,  _ protecting. _

Then Isabelle became a forensic pathologist and all hell broke loose.

While he had known for a while and started making preparations, his parents didn’t actually find out until she graduated (and honestly props to her for being able to keep it a secret for so long) announcing it with a move to Brooklyn. The screaming match that followed was as expected, his parents threatening to cut her off and her not caring. She simply shrugged and said she already had a position at the hospital near Jace’s precinct as their new resident forensic pathologist and found an apartment with a roommate.

_ “It better not be that deadbeat artist, or I swear to the Angel I will get you blacklisted-” _

It was that comment that had Alec interrupting,  _ “She’s staying with me.” _

Both of his parents had frozen and snapped their necks to glare at him. 

“ _ You knew about this? _ ”

Before he could let them sink their talons into him he quickly tried to placate them, “ _ When Izzy told me I started making arrangements, we found an apartment near the precinct and I’ll be transferred over as a detective.” _

The last few words were the only thing that brought Maryse and Robert any comfort, glad to know that he was advancing and that at least Izzy wasn’t moving in with Meliorn. They continued to voice their disapproval thrown in with snarky comments here and there, but in the end, they realized they had no choice in the matter, nor could they win. They had stomped away and slammed their doors but to Alec it was worth it, getting to see that beam on Izzy’s face when she realized she would be able to live her dreams and knowing he could look out for Jace as well, meant everything to him. 

So after a bone-crushing squeeze from Izzy and a wave goodbye, Alec went home to pack up the rest of his shoebox apartment and prepare for his move to Brooklyn.

*

He’s early to his first day at the 67th precinct.

Izzy didn’t start for a few more days, the last pathologist wanting to wrap up his final cases, so Alec had attempted to dress himself. He slipped on a black button-down and black slacks and tried to ignore the Izzy-voice in the back of his head chastising him. And while he hated ties, he grabbed one last second because he thought he looked unprofessional without it and struggled to tie it properly. It was dark blue and acceptable enough so,  _ ha take that Izzy. _

He grabbed his things and an apple before he made his way out, following the mental map he had planned to the precinct and even had enough time to get a muffin at the bodega on the corner before heading in. 

As he walks in the door he takes a deep breath, trying to keep calm, and makes his way to the front desk. 

The station is old he could tell you that, the floors which he thinks were once white are a weird pale yellow, there’s oddly shaped stains lining the walls and it smelled like coffee and grime. There are a few people in the waiting room already despite the early hour, no one daring to make eye contact with him. 

“Hey, I’m Alec Lightwood I’m-”

And before he could even properly introduce himself, the desk sergeant with glasses and an all too wide smile quickly interrupted, “Lightwood? Any relation to Jace Lightwood?”

“Yeah my brother, listen I’m new-”

“Oh that’s right I forgot we were getting fresh blood today, I’m Simon but most people just call me Lewis around here, give me a second I’m supposed to give you a tour.”

Alec watches as he stumbles a bit around, moving papers, knocking over the stapler, and grabbing some files before he gets someone to cover for him and comes around to the front.

“Sorry I tend to be a bit of a klutz, it’s why they keep me up front.” He gives a nervous laugh and starts to lead him through the building. 

He bites his tongue as Lewis goes off on a tangent about the history of the precinct, and he’s not really paying much attention, just nodding every so often at any officer that they passed by.

“Bullpen is through here, Captain’s office is straight back, he’s expecting you but we can see him after. Break room is over there, locker rooms right next to it and that little room there is the crash room, don’t hook up in there you will get caught.”

“Speaking from experience?” Alec raised an eyebrow looking the man up and down.

The blush on the tops of his cheeks was enough of an answer and Alec just shook his head.  _ Straight people and their urges. _

“Your brother should be coming in soon, he and Clary normally come in together.”

He had met her a few times during the holidays but he’s guessing by the use of her first name they knew each other as well, he asks him as such.

Simon nods with another bright grin, “Yeah she’s amazing, she and I have been best friends since we were kids.”

They make their way past the bullpen and Simon introduces him to a few more people; they all shake hands with a small smile and welcome him on, and overall Alec already feels comfortable.

Simon is about to lead him to the Captain’s office before he stops abruptly, seemingly remembering something at the last second, “Crap, I completely forgot to introduce you to Magnus!”

Alec just raised an eyebrow at the odd name and looked around, but noticed there wasn’t anyone left to be met.

He doesn’t get the chance to bring up his confusion when Lewis grabs his upper arm and drags him to an office in the corner. 

There’s an old, vintage, Edison lightbulb mounted on the wall outside but it's turned off and Alec frowns at why anyone in a police station would need that. 

He braces himself as he watches Simon knock on the door and waits patiently leaning over to Alec, “You’re gonna love him.”

And for a second Alec doesn’t believe him, he’s always been the type to be closed off, it being hard to let people in, and he doesn’t see that changing any time soon, but then the door opens. 

With a name like Magnus, he doesn’t really know what he’s expecting, but he  _ definitely _ wasn’t expecting someone so…  _ pretty. _

The man in front of him had his hair done up perfectly, strands of a deep red adorned the front to match his dark red shirt tucked into tight pants with long necklaces falling down the middle. His eye makeup is glittery and outlined in kohl and his eyes themselves aren’t just beautiful, they look soft, kind, almost  _ comforting. _

“Magnus, this is our new detective, Alec, Jace’s brother.” Simon introduces before nudging Alec just slightly who had frozen to stare at the man in front of him.

Alec shakes his head to snap out of his momentary daze, “Sorry I, um- Alec from the nineteen.” He said hurriedly, sticking his hand out to shake, he hoped the other man can’t see the slight shaking.

The stunning man just chuckled and shook his hand, “That’s right the new detective, I only just got your file this morning so my apologies that I haven’t been properly briefed.”  _ Even his voice was beautiful.  _

“Um- file?”

“Oh sorry I forgot to say, Magnus here is our resident behavioral analyst,” Simon mentions and he looks like he’s going to say more but is interrupted by another officer, Maia if he remembers correctly, and excuses himself.

“Come on in Alexander, we might as well get talking, we’ll probably be seeing a lot of one another.”

And the way his full name rolls off his tongue is so smooth Alec doesn’t even want to correct him. He nods and follows him into the room and is in awe of what he finds. While the rest of the precinct looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 1980s, Magnus’ office has different textures and patterns and it’s loud and a little obnoxious but still somehow gives off a comforting vibe. There’s a long, big, blue couch and a yellow armchair on the other side of it with a table separating it. Very therapy-vibes.

He looks at the shelves organized against the wall, each rack holding little trinkets from various countries as well as photos of Magnus posing with friends. It makes him wonder about the man’s adventures, wanting to hear the stories of his explorations for each of the countries represented on this shelf. His hands are tracing over a little figurine from Peru when he’s brought out of his thoughts, “Can I offer you a cup of coffee? You look like you take it black.” There’s a hint of a simper adorning his face and it almost distracts Alec from wondering how the hell he knew that. 

“Yes, please.” He mumbles and watches as Magnus turns to a coffee cart and makes him a cup. With Magnus’ back faced towards him, he abandons the trinket shelf in favor of watching him move about the cart. The man is fluid in his motions, seemingly flowing and gliding making what he’s guessing isn’t just a cup of coffee anymore.

“So… behavioral analyst, huh? Guessing that means you’re really good at reading people?” He attempts to start off the conversation.

Magnus gives him a little hum, “Somewhat. I’m good at deduction, so things people say and do or lack thereof respectively.”

The coffee finishes brewing and as he hands it over Alec can’t help but turn his attention to the many rings adorning his hands, wanting to add them to his list of curiosities. He thanks Magnus for the mug and before he can ask about the trinkets or his rings, the other man gestures toward the big blue couch while he takes a seat in the armchair.

The offer is simple enough, and if it were anyone else Alec would’ve respectfully declined, but the next thing he knows his lanky legs were walking over to the couch and taking a seat. He takes a sip of the coffee and has to stop himself from audibly moaning, it must’ve been the best cup of coffee he’s ever tasted.

Before he can make a fool of himself he tries to continue getting to know the man, “So do you help with the cases here?” He asked, looking around and seeing the various diplomas encompassed in the room. He doesn’t know how old Magnus is, but with the handful of degrees hanging, he knew the man was brilliant.

“Sure, I’ll help provide profiles for the suspect and witnesses or attempt to read the crime scene. I’ve always accepted that behavioral analysis is more of a pseudoscience than anything, the patterns of people’s personalities and behaviors are mainly what I work off of. Sherwin out there likes to call it my magic trick, the boy is too sweet.”

Alec racks his brain for someone named Sherwin and it takes him far longer than he’ll admit to realize who he’s talking about.

“Can you analyze me?” The second the words leave his lips there’s a twinkle of mischief in Magnus’ eyes. 

“I did the moment you walked in, but I tend to keep it to myself save I say something you don’t want others to know.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, eyes flitting down into his mug, “Is that how you knew I liked my coffee black?”

Magnus lets out a chuckle at that, “Sweetheart, the coffee you’re drinking isn’t black. I figured you normally drink it black because it’s easy and efficient like any officer would. But judging by the crumbs on your tie, I guessed you had a sweet tooth you never indulge, so I added a shot of hazelnut.”

He blushes a little at being called out on having a sweet tooth and tries to brush off the pesky crumbs. “What else can you tell me about myself?”

“I wouldn’t want to give everything away dear, I have to keep a few tricks up my sleeve.” He smiles softly and Alec decides it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

Before Alec can respond Magnus clears his throat, “You’re not married, you don’t have any pets, you have some type of female influence in your life but it’s not your mother, a sister perhaps, Oh, and when you were ten you punched the playground bully when he picked on the kid with a lisp and glasses.”

Alec’s eyes widened almost comically at the last one, “How the hell did you know that? That can’t possibly be in my file?”

The other man just laughed and shook his head, “Think it through detective, I have yet to see your file and have only just met you today.”

Alec’s eyebrows are furrowed as he tries to rack his brain about how the  _ world _ he could've known about Jimmy Krasinski but the puzzle pieces quickly fall into place. He didn’t just get his detective rank because of his parents... _ well, maybe a little. _

“Jace told you.”

Magnus smirked mischievously, “Your dear brother and I, aside from having chats a few times a month, are also drinking buddies. Another part of my job description here.”

“Digging up dirt on drunk officers’ families?”

“Being an ear for those who need it. Far too many people forget that officers shoulder every burden they stumble upon, and some memories will haunt them forever. Most of what I do here is act as a confidant, My door is always open if you need to chat, rant, or cry. Some officers will outright schedule an appointment with me, which is also fine, if that’s something you might want to do.”

Alec blinks because he doesn’t think he’s ever heard of a police department that actively provides such on-call support for their officers.

Magnus must’ve seen his confusion and nods towards his various diplomas on the wall, “Lucian hired me initially as just an analyst, but then he realized I had my license and proposed the idea. The department saw it as a guinea pig experiment and once they saw the results they decided to keep me on as such.” 

“Yeah I noticed the degrees, you must be good.” He nodded to the frames, his eyes stopping on a giant calendar on the wall behind his desk. He can see some short handwriting on each date so it makes it hard to actually read it, but almost every day is full with a time and a set of initials next to it.

It seems like Magnus could see the questions forming and is about to explain what it all means when Simon knocks back on the door poking his head in, “Hey Mags, sorry to interrupt, but Cap wants to talk to him.”

The reminder that he’s still at work and has responsibilities other than drinking amazing coffee while sitting on a comfy couch and talking to the most gorgeous man he’s ever laid eyes on has Alec promptly standing up.   


“He’ll be right out Stacy,” Magnus calls and stands up as well, setting his mug on the table. 

He comes close into Alec’s space and Alec freezes, his breath catching in his throat as he looks down just the slightest bit, their eyes staring into one another’s. He watches as Magnus’ hand comes close and before he can flinch Magnus is undoing his sloppily made tie. “I’m very good at my job Alexander, which is why I know you didn’t want this tie but you felt that your sister would appreciate the color as opposed to the rest of your attire.” He explained as he redid it properly, “I would tell you Luke doesn’t mind what you wear, but you’ll keep it on anyways for the same reason you punched that bully. It’s because you think it’s the right thing to do.” He pulls the knot up and towards his throat, where Alec can’t help but swallow hard and dare a flick of his eyes to Magnus’ lips.

“It’s what made you a good cop, and it’s what will make you an amazing detective.” Magnus gives him a soft pat on his chest and steps away walking to the door and Alec is breathless to do anything else but follow.

“My door is always open if you ever need anything.” He says widening it for emphasis as Alec steps through. He’s just about to turn and follow Simon already walking away when Magnus calls out, “Oh, and Alexander? Welcome to the six-seven.”

He smiles and is only able to nod in thanks when Magnus closes the door. As he walks away he can’t help but feel a little dazed at what just happened. When he had gotten ready for work today he never thought he’d face someone as warm and welcoming as Magnus, much less already feel an attraction to someone so quick. Sure he tried to date throughout college, it being the first and only time he had attempted to experiment, but no one had quite piqued his curiosity nor took his breath away like  _ this.  _

When he finally gets his wits back and tries to push down any rising feelings he looks back to Simon, “Is he always that intense?”

Simon chuckles and nods, starting to lead them down the hallway again, “Pretty much, but he’s the heart and soul of this precinct. We wouldn’t be the six-seven if it weren’t for him.”

Somehow Alec believes every word.

The stop in front of the open door office and Simon pokes his head in, “Cap? Detective Lightwood is here.”

Alec subconsciously straightens his posture as Captain Garroway comes out and gives him a nod and a firm handshake. The man is intimidating, black eyes piercing your soul and looking like he could break you in half if he wanted to.

“Welcome aboard, your desk is across from your partners’, Branwell, she can catch you up on your cases and help you settle with anything else. I’ve read your jacket and it's impressive as hell, don’t make me regret accepting you.”

It was exactly the speech he was expecting and he replies with a quick, “Yes Sir,” before he’s being handed some files by Lewis as Garroway keeps talking. 

“Badge and gun, these are a part of you now. Don’t lose either one and remember that this badge is more than just your shield. Department policies and protocol, but it's nothing really different from the nineteen’s; settle in, grab some coffee, and try not to bring any family drama in.” It’s a bit brash but he’s given a quirked smile. Something tells him he knows exactly how much drama Jace brings in. 

The second he does, Simon starts speaking instantly again, “I think you’re really gonna like it here. We all work as a giant family, monthly outings, and whatnot. Plus you’re gonna love Lydia. She's almost exactly like you, stoic and kinda scary looking.”

He shows him to his desk and shoots a quick glance to Lydia before wishing him luck and hurrying back up to the front.

Alec drops the files on his desk and nods over to Branwell whom he’d already met during introductory rounds. 

“Cap said you’d catch me up on the cases?”

The bright-eyed blonde with a tightly pulled ponytail just grunted and slid over a pile of files, “We’ve got these but we’re working on the top file today.”

Alec picks up the file and flips through it, “Do you mind if I take some time to look over it?”

She just shrugs, “I have to finish a report, is thirty enough?” 

When they swap nods Alec sits down and starts reading the file. 

In the past month, they had found the bodies of five girls that all seemed to go missing at the same time but were found one week after another. The only thing that connected them was that each of the girls had a red circle tattooed on their neck. The whole case was confusing and the file itself didn’t have that much information, crime scene, little forensics, and a few witness statements that he guesses they’re working on today. He takes the rest of the time thinking over his interaction with Magnus, how someone who had just met him got him so quickly and while normally he’d be uncomfortable with someone popping his bubble like he did, he found himself oddly not minding.

He has to stop himself from thinking about that any further, reminding himself that Magnus is a coworker and should stay that way. Before he can ponder the thought anymore, he stands up, seeing Jace coming at him with wide arms and a bright smile. 

“Alec! I’m so glad you’re here.” He grabs Alec and squeezes him in a bear hug. Alec just laughs, crinkling his eyes, and returns the hug with a pat on his back.

“You act like you didn’t just help me and Izzy move in last week.”

Jace just laughs and gives him another slap on the shoulder before pulling away, “Hey I just can’t believe my big brother and I are in the same shop.” 

Alec always admired Jace’s tenacity to do what he wanted. He was happy to follow in the Lightwood tradition of policing, but unlike everyone else, he had no plans to move up the ranks. His parents always saw him as the golden child and the only thing he ever did to piss them off was move out of their borough to serve Brooklyn right out of the academy. While his parents complained, they were sated that at least he was moving with his highschool girlfriend Clary, who had also gotten a job in the department as a police sketch artist.

He hears Jace pulling him out of his thoughts, “Hey, why don’t the three of us go out Friday, yeah? Celebrate your promotion and us finally being able to spend time together again.”

“Yeah that sounds great, I’ll let Izzy know.”

Behind him, he hears Lydia clearing her throat, “Sorry to interrupt, but are you caught up on the case? We have a few other witnesses we need to meet with today.” 

Alec’s cheeks pinked a little at being called out by his new partner and hoped he didn’t just give her a bad first impression, “Yeah sorry, I’m ready, let me grab my things and I can drive.”   
  


Alec and Jace say their goodbyes before they go their separate ways. He readjusts his badge and gun and grabs the other case files just in case before meeting Lydia at the front entrance. Once in the patrol car, he attempts to make small talk with the girl, wanting to get to know the person he’d have to trust at his back. By the time they get to the witnesses’ house he’s learned that she’s a widow, her husband being Jace’s last partner, she grew up in Brooklyn, and she liked to play by the rules just like him. It’s only minutes into their interview that Alec realizes the two work well together, what he lacks in people skills she makes up for with her polite smile and diplomacy.

Considering it was his first time conducting a witness interview, he delegates himself to the background, only asking questions for clarification. At first, he thinks he’s stepping on her toes, but when they leave she compliments him on his out of the box thinking and admits she would never have thought to ask the questions he did. He’s not too good with taking any type of praise so he just gives her an awkward nod.

It seemed like their tactics are proven helpful as their witness describes a person fleeing the scene that Lydia was apparently all too familiar with.

“His name is Victor Aldertree. He’s got priors, outstanding warrants, and likes to sell candy to teenagers.” She groaned as they got back in the car, “I hate dealing with him.”

“Why hasn’t he been cuffed?”

“He’s one of our C.I.’s.” She rolled her eyes and called Luke to let him know what was going on before putting in a call to Aldertree.

Alec listens as Lydia threatens him a little before setting up a meeting time. 

“So I know we just got partnered, but I’m taking a few days off soon. It’s um...” She takes a second to clear her throat and Alec can tell her mask breaks the tiniest bit. “It’ll be a year since John passed.”

And Alec immediately felt bad but he hated that he didn’t know what to say. It would also be a year since Jace got injured but at least he  _ lived. _

It had been a traumatizing ordeal, Jace had been on patrol with John, Lydia’s husband, and Lilith, the ring leader of a child trafficking scheme Lydia and her partner were investigating, had ordered a hit on them, killing John and severely injuring Jace in the process. She still hasn’t been caught, and while there were whispers about her whereabouts, nothing was concrete, it was like she had just vanished. Jace was never the same after that if it wasn’t the nightmares from the explosion eating at him, it was survivor’s guilt and panic attacks.

“No I get it, take all the time you need. And I know we just met but um- I’m here if you want to talk too. I’m not so good with words but I can listen.”

Lydia gives him a tight-lipped smile, “Thanks.” 

They sit in uncomfortable silence for a second, both of them suddenly reminded that it was her husband and his brother that was targeted last year. He truly doesn’t know why he says the next part.

“You know I heard Magnus is good with these kinds of things, maybe you could talk to him?”

The mention of Magnus brings out a small grin from her as she looks down at her lap, “Yeah Magnus is great, he helped a lot last year and we actually have plans for a night in on the day.” And Alec really shouldn’t be surprised that he hasn’t heard one bad thing about the guy and that he really is as nice and as caring as it seems.

They drive to meet a few more witnesses for other cases before they head back to the precinct to add and go over their case files. 

Sitting in the front seat of the sedan and watching the city pass by he thinks about his first day at the precinct. He liked Lydia so far, she was sharp and steadfast with just the right amount of cordiality that he respected and was glad to have at his back. Being in the same shop with Jace was great too, granted he was still only a beat cop, he liked knowing that he was at an arm's length now.

Even the other cops he had met for only a second today all seemed to be friendly, Lewis talked too much too fast, but Alec could tell he had a good heart underneath all the pop culture references. Santiago was a puzzle, the man had a very hard exterior but something about him screamed that he was a big softie; maybe it was his cheeks. Roberts seemed badass. Underhill was sweet. Raj was kind of creepy.

Then there was Magnus.

Magnus was an enigma all by himself.

When he thinks of the older man his heart does this weird hiccup thing that he’s not really sure how to describe. They’ve only just met today but Alec is desperate for  _ more. _

Desperate to ask about the stories that come with the souvenirs decorating his office, curious to know about his rings and their origins, itching to know how he likes his eggs in the morning. He just wanted  _ more. _

He doesn’t ever remember crushing on anyone so hard so fast and the thought kind of scares him to be honest. Growing up he knew that his parents would never accept his sexuality; that coupled with their expectations of him meant he never thought he would have the life he truly wanted. In the eyes of his parents this job and ‘his’ political aspirations came first and for a while he agreed to it, mindlessly going along with their demands and putting his happiness to the side.

But then of course Magnus Bane had to come and fuck that up.

It wasn’t that he was ready to throw everything away for the man, he had worked far too hard and too long to get where he was. And despite everything he still wanted to make his parents proud, keep honor to the family and all the shit.

And he had only met Magnus Bane  _ today. _

He doesn’t think he’d give up everything for this man,  _ yet _ .

But the idea of an  _ eventually  _ doesn’t scare him.

And that  _ terrifies  _ him.

He’s pulled out of his thoughts as they pull into the precinct, and he hopes Lydia doesn’t mention how spaced out he had gotten and followed her in, giving Lewis a little nod.

They get set up in one of the conference rooms and spread out all the photos and files. “So in summary, we found a body of a girl with these tattoos, a witness saw Aldertree covering her body and run, and the tattoos matched other bodies found?” Alec furrowed his eyebrows as he looked over all the photos, “We still have no idea what connects all of them? Besides the tattoo of course.”

Lydia was nodding along to him, her face void of emotions as he read it back. “I’ve been working on this case for a few weeks and I know their tattoos are the key, but I can’t find anything on them.” She slaps a file down, “Tomorrow I’m gonna take Magnus to the other victims’ family’s houses, see if he can get any profile from that.”

Alec got a little excited at the thought of working with Magnus, and nodded his head quickly, “Yeah that sounds like a good idea, I’d love to be able to watch him work.” 

He sees Lydia give him a weird look but shrugs it off, “And since we’re not meeting with Aldertree until late tomorrow there’s nothing else we can do. I say call it a night, congrats on surviving your first day here.” She sends him another smile before grabbing her blazer and pulls out a card, “My number, in case you need anything.” 

Alec takes it and nods in thanks before watching her leave. He looks around and starts to clean up the files, reorganizing them and tidying up the rest of the room. He’s one his way out to the desk when he realizes he should see if Magnus will need them ( _ he swears it's the only reason he has for stopping by his office)  _ and proceeds to head towards his direction. He sees the light outside off so he knows he’s not with anybody, but he knocks just in case. When a voice inside tells him to come in he opens the door and his eyes flick to the other person in the room who is  _ not  _ Magnus. 

“Alexander! This is a surprise, have you met Raphael?” Magnus, who is sitting on top of his desk, motions to the shorter Hispanic man sitting with his legs crossed in the yellow armchair who gives him a slight nod.

“Um yeah, when Lewis introduced me to everyone.” He gives Raphael a nod and turns his attention back to Magnus, “I’m sorry the light was off I didn’t think-”

“No worries dear, Rapha was just complaining.”

He hears Raphael mumble something under his breath and shoot a glare at Magnus. The analyst must’ve heard or been able to tell what he said and slides off the desk to pat the man’s cheek before coming around to him.

“So what can I help you with?”

Alec has to drag his eyes back from watching Magnus intently, and he just sticks out the files nervously. “Lydia said we’re going to a vic’s house tomorrow and I wanted to stop by and see if you needed the case files.”

Magnus takes the pile and thanks him, “She dropped them off this morning, dear, but I would like to read your notes on it as well.” He flicks through a few pages before settling them on his desk, “I’ll be able to have any preliminary findings before we head out tomorrow.”

“Yeah that’d be great, I look forward to working with you.”  _ Smooth, Lightwood. _

“Likewise.” The beam Magnus gives him is dazzling and he genuinely thinks he gets lost in it for a minute before Raphael is clearing his throat. “As much fun as it is watching you two, Magnus, we have reservations?”

At the mention of their plans, Magnus seems to divert his attention back to the other man, “Oh yes that’s right, apologies Alexander, Rapha likes to be punctual. Until tomorrow?” 

Alec nodded fast trying to prevent himself from saying anything else stupid, “Yeah, yeah, um tomorrow.” He gives a wave to both of the men before quickly making his escape.

*

The next morning Alec attempted to look his best knowing he’d be spending time with Magnus. He does his tie to the best of his ability and semi-hopes that Magnus will fix it for him again.

When he gets to the precinct, he’s walking by Magnus’ office when he sees the light flick off, and both Magnus and Lydia come out.

“Oh look, perfect timing Alexander, we were just about to discuss the profile of the suspect, why don’t you grab a cup of coffee and meet us in the conference room?” He walks away without looking back and Alec thinks he’s not used to people telling him no. When his coffee is brewed and he’s got his case files tucked under his arm, he goes into the conference room where Magnus and Lydia have already splayed out the documents.

Alec could barely pay attention to the profile, too busy watching Magnus talk with his hands, animated, passionate. This wasn’t the Magnus Alec had met yesterday, this Magnus was focused, succinct and to the point, somehow telling a story and reciting from a textbook all at once. For every claim he would back it up with some type of evidence, giving them both more notes and different angles to work from.

“So in conclusion, no fingerprints, hair, or other bodily fluids. A method but no ritual. No remorse, signs of anger, or even sexual contact. He knew what he was doing because it’s literally his job.” The last part is finally what brought Alec back to attention to the actual case, “So you’re not thinking serial killer, you’re thinking hitman.”

Magnus flashed him a smirk, “So you were paying attention Alexander, and here I thought you were spacing out to my charming looks.”

It makes Alec blush a little because it wasn’t a lie.

“As cold and as heartless as it sounds, your killer didn’t care about her, or any of them it seems. So we have to find out how five missing women from all different boroughs caused enough trouble to get them silenced.” 

Lydia, who had been silent up till now, nodded her head and scribbled faster, “The part you mentioned about some type of organization, like a cult?”

Alec raised an eyebrow at that, he didn’t think there would be that much difference between Manhattan and Brooklyn, but he really didn’t think he’d have to be dealing with some type of cult in his first week. 

“Maybe, or at least something similar, I would get in contact with organized crime and see if there’s any match in M.O. Otherwise I do have other appointments I have to get to this afternoon, so if we can go ahead and make our way to the victims’ houses?”

“Yeah yeah, of course, I’ll drive,” Lydia mumbled standing up and heading out, a determined look on her face. 

Alec gave her a confused look before turning to Magnus, “That was a thorough profile, you weren’t kidding when you said you were good at your job.” He tried his best to compliment.

Magnus gave him the same bright smile as before coming into his personal space again. “It comes with experience.” Alec can’t even think about the double meaning when Magnus starts to undo his tie and straightens it out before redoing the knot. “You’re getting better at this, Alexander.” He gives his chest a little pat before grabbing his files and making his way out.

It takes him a few seconds to calm down before Alec can move, convincing himself that Magnus really was just that flirty with everyone and it didn’t mean anything. When he can finally feel his limbs again he starts grabbing his files and makes his way back to his desk grabbing his things to distract his nerves.

Their visit to the victims’ houses was harder than Alec expected, each family grieving and mourning as they retold stories of their daughters, sisters, wives. Lydia and himself were doing the most talking, Magnus mainly observing and going through their bedrooms and asking a question here or there for clarification. 

Watching Magnus work was a wonder in itself. The man tried not to touch too many things, so Alec figured that what he did touch had to have some importance. He picked up picture frames of the victims and their friends, asking questions about their relationships and whatnot. He kept his voice soft, a tone Alec had not yet heard of, connecting with the families and keeping them calm.

Fascinating didn’t even begin to cover the works of Magnus.

Despite that he tried his hardest to pay attention to the actual conversation at hand, writing down any information he deemed important and trying hard not to step on Lydia’s toes when he asked his own.

By the time they had met with three out of the five families, Alec was drained, emotionally, and mentally. He finally understood why Luke and Magnus put so much emphasis on officers having some sort of support system or outlet. 

They drove back to the precinct to go over their cases and Magnus had to immediately go into an appointment. It’s then Alec decides to throw himself into the case, working off the cult idea and trying to somehow connect all the victims.

He spreads out all the photos and documents pertaining to the case and starts to read off Magnus’ profile of all the victims they visited today. In neat cursive, he reads the bullet points he’s created and tries to work from there. According to all of the parents and family members, they have no clue what the circle tattoo branded on each of the women means, and none of them apparently ever expressed getting something like that. Even after running it through the system, there were too many hits to narrow it down but all three of them believed it was the key to solving their case.

He’s knee-deep in concentration when Lydia comes over and reminds him that they have to go meet Aldertree in some sketchy park across town. They change into some plain clothes and get in an unmarked car to meet him. After some thinly veiled threats and Lydia strong-arming him, they managed to get a lead on the suspect.

“No one knows who he is or what he looks like, guys practically a ghost. All I know is that he works for his father, they run an import shipping business out of the port. Word has it they’re expecting a big one tomorrow, both of ‘em will be there.”

“A name, Aldertree.” Lydia rolled her eyes quickly getting annoyed by his deflection.

“Jonathan Morgenstern.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised an update! 
> 
> First off thank you everyone so much for giving so much love to this story already, I actually teared up at the amount of kudos and comments chapter 1 got on the first night. Like I said before I put so much into this and it means the world that you guys are taking the time to read and leave feedback <3
> 
> Also, I forgot to mention that the title of this series comes from the combination of two songs that make me think of Matt Daddario (cause I'm like a little bit in love with him hehe) and means a lot to me as well (;
> 
> Lastly, thank you to Kim, my wonderful beta, and Charlie, my number one cheerleader because without either one this would not exist.
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Em

The next day Alec started sifting through the first bunch of files that arrived from the Organized Crime Unit as well as everything they had on Jonathan and his father, Valentine Morgenstern, and their “import” business. He also tries to take into account the notes that Magnus left for them, and as he’s reading he zeroes in on one such note,

_ All single? Dating?  _

It was a reasonable question to ask, but Alec had remembered that every family member or friend they spoke to noted that they were single, and in fact never dated or hadn’t in a while. But all of the women were good looking, so he knows even if they weren’t dating someone at that point in time they must’ve been out shopping at least.

Right away his mind jumped to online dating services, something he had tried back in college. Though he’ll never admit that it was only Izzy’s nosiness that pushed him to create several profiles on various applications before deleting them and deciding everything was a sham.

“Hey, Lydia what’s the number for TARU?” He asked scribbling down their emails on a sticky note.   


“Tech Unit? Well, sometimes they take too long so we just send it up to Lewis.” She mumbles around the highlighter cap in her mouth.

“The desk sergeant?” 

“Yeah, he’s a computer nerd and amazing at it. Hey by the way, I got confirmation from Cap that Jace can join you on the stakeout tomorrow.”

After meeting with Aldertree, they had decided that the best course of action was to stake out the port where Valentine would be expecting a new shipment in an attempt to get more information on his operation. When they realized that Lydia wouldn’t be able to go, she offered to ask Garroway if Jace could accompany him instead. Garroway was very accepting of the idea, wanting Jace to be able to move up from just a beat cop and figured this would be a good way to start training him. And while Alec felt bad that Lydia was going to spend the next few days mourning, he was grateful he would be able to watch over Jace. Some part of him needed the reassurance that his brother was going to be okay, too.

He nods a thank you to her and hurried over to the front desk to find Lewis. He sees the boy talking to Maia again and knocks on the glass with his knuckle. He smiles brightly at him, excusing himself from Maia to walk over, “Lightwood hey, you looking for Jace? He should be back from patr-”

“No it’s not about Jace, look I was told you’re our go-to computer guy here? I need you to run these emails and see if you can find any accounts linked to dating websites or apps.”

Lewis takes the sticky note and nods at that, “Sure no problem, it might take a bit though. Dating sites have upped their security the past few years, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Alec gives him a nod, “Thanks I appreciate it, and if you see my brother can you let him know I need him to go on a stakeout with me? It’s already been cleared by Cap.”

“Yeah for sure, I’ll let you know as soon as I get the results back.”

*

They finished out the rest of the day continuing their attempt to piece together how the missing girls got mixed up with someone like Morgenstern and going over the ship manifests. On paper, everything looked legal and clean so it was still hard to find any probable cause for detaining a future shipment to be able to search it.

The next day was Lydia’s first day gone and it effectively benched Alec until their stakeout that night, so he resigned to look for a connection between victims themselves. Beside the fact that they were all fairly pretty and were in the same age group, there wasn’t anything solid that tied them all together.

During his break he had stepped away to the breakroom, grabbing a cup of coffee and frowning a little when it was cold and kind of burnt. He drinks it nonetheless and is leaning against the counter when Magnus comes in, his eyes brightening when he sees him. “Hello, Alexander, how is the six-seven treating you?” 

Alec can’t explain it, but he thinks Magnus may be the personification of honey; smooth, rich, and golden. His outfit is just as perfect as it was the day he met him, except this time his hair is blue to match the tight blue button-down and vest. He finds himself blanking out a little as the man speaks to him, “Good, it’s—everyone is great, thank you.”

There are little crinkles at the edge of Magnus’ eyes when he smiles at him. “Good, I’m glad to hear it. I know Lydia is out for a few days, how are you handling it?” As he talks he’s moving around their little kitchen, grabbing something from the fridge and sliding it into the microwave.

“Fine, just trying to get familiar with the other cases we have going on. I’m not used to such a heavy workload.” It’s the truth anyway, because when he was just a beat cop all he had to worry about was what was going on for that shift and that shift only. He never really got to see the cases through but he was excited to finally start making a change in the victim's life, even if it be just one.

He’s lost in his thoughts for a little when Magnus comes into his space again, “You know how I knew you had a woman influence in your life that wasn’t your mother? Because she would’ve taught you how to tie this properly.” He laughs a little and starts to re-do his sloppily knotted tie again. 

Alec prays that Magnus can’t tell how his breath got caught as he touched him.

He’s just finished pulling it taut when the microwave beeped, signaling his food was ready. He pulled away and grabbed his things, “Good luck, dear, don’t be afraid to come by!” And just like that he was gone, a cloud of sandalwood trailing behind.

Magnus Bane had been in his life for all of a week and he already can’t stop thinking of the man. He knows he probably shouldn’t, doesn’t even know if the man is single or not and the fact that they’re coworkers is an issue too. He drinks the rest of the bad coffee and barely holds back a grimace before heading back to his desk, the memory of soft brown eyes not leaving his head once.

The rest of the day goes somewhat smoothly, but it wasn’t until Lewis came by with a key piece of evidence that he knew he was looking in the right direction. “Hey I’m still working on getting into their accounts and sifting through all the messages, but I can tell you so far you were right. Every girl on the list you gave me has signed up with some dating service. There is some overlap but it looks like they all have at least one in common.” He shuffled through the papers and pulled out the dating profiles for each of the girls for an app called  _ Single Angels _ and handed them over.

Alec cringed at the cheesy dating name but his eyes got wide at the profiles,  _ this was the key. _

“Lewis, this is it, you figured it out.” He whispers flicking through each one, the smiling pictures of each victim a stark contrast to the ones he had. 

Lewis just gave a little blush and pushed up his glasses, “No man you figured it out, I just did the grunt work.”

“No, thank you, Simon, really this is what Lydia and I have been looking for for the past week. Is there any way you can find out if they matched with any of the same guys?”

Simon looked a little surprised that Alec called him by his first name, but once he understood what was being asked of him he eagerly nodded, “Yeah! Like I said it might take a bit of time because of the new security measures and firewalls they’ve added, but I should be able to figure it out. I’ll make sure you get a copy of their messages too.”

Alec nodded in excitement, glad that they were finally getting somewhere with the case and gave Lewis a slap on the back, “Thanks a lot man, I owe you.” He called behind his back and rushed back to the conference room to work on the new angle.

When it came time for their stakeout that night, Alec and Jace packed up the car for their plan. Jace made sure to load it with plenty of snacks while Alec complained in the background.

They drove out in the late evening, as the drop-off wasn’t supposed to be until after midnight but they wanted to assess the location beforehand. After driving around the port and getting familiar with the landscape, they were able to find a secluded spot near the port that hid them but didn’t obstruct their view. They had spent the first hour discussing the case, along with Jace filling Alec in on all the precinct gossip. 

“Yeah and this one time I caught Underhill and his boyfriend going at it in the middle of the day.” Jace laughed, shaking his head, “You would think they could at least wait till they got home right? Not saying that I haven’t-”

Before Alec could hear far more than he wanted to regarding his brother’s sex life, he hurriedly tried to change the topic and figured this would be the best time to find out about a certain behavioralist.

“What about Magnus?” He interrupted, hoping that his inquiries wouldn’t give him away.

Apparently, Jace didn’t even think twice about it, eyes never drifting away from where they were watching the dock, “He’s a pretty cool guy, we talk and hang out like once a week.” 

Alec bit his lip, wanting to push for more information on whether or not he was dating, but he also wanted to know if something was going on with Jace that he wasn’t telling him.

“Yeah he mentioned you two meet a lot, is it just for outside work?”

At the mention of that Jace finally pulled his eyes away to face him, “Yeah we like to grab a drink at the end of the week but I do go to him for work-related stuff too.”

And Alec really shouldn’t be surprised, he knows Magnus mentioned it when they met but he never got the full story of it all. He paused for a second to think, wanting to be cautious about the subject, “For sessions?”

Jace flicked his eyes to his lap and his thumbs started fiddling with his seatbelt.

“Mags really helped, you know? He let me stay over at his place for a while because I hated being alone. And I couldn’t even stay with Clary because I kept hurting her at night. He helped talk me through everything and come to terms with things. I owe him a lot.” He whispers the last part so low that Alec barely hears it.

Alec reaches out to lay a hand on his shoulder, squeezing to let Jace know he was there for him too, “I’m proud of you for accepting his help, maybe I owe Magnus a drink or something.”

Jace chuckled and punched his shoulder, “I can admit it when I need help. And yeah you should hang out with him, he’s a pretty cool guy, as for the drink part you might need to check with his boyfriend about that.”

At the mention of a boyfriend, Alec completely freezes.  _ Of course someone as amazing and beautiful as Magnus would have a boyfriend. _

“He has a boyfriend?” He frowned trying not to sound too disappointed. 

“Yeah the last I heard he had a thing with Santiago, the two always leave and come in together a lot.” He shrugs and tilts the bag of chips he’s eating into his mouth. “And when Mags and I talk about sex and stuff he always mentions a partner.”

Alec feels himself deflated at the news, he was so sure the two had a spark when they had met but now he just feels so led on. The fact that it was Santiago though made much more sense too, if his previous interactions were anything to go by.

Before he can attempt to ask for more information, Jace sits up straight, “Dude isn’t that Sebastian?” The mention of their coworker has Alec whipping his head over to where Jace is pointing him out, his eyes widening when it was confirmed. 

“Holy shit, I knew something was off about that guy, he has such a high closure rate I knew he had to be cheating somehow,” Jace growled and slid down on the seat to hide himself. “Alec get down we can’t make an arrest tonight, if Verlac is here there might be others in the precinct that are in on it too.”

Alec instantly followed Jace’s lead, sliding down and ducking out of sight. The idea that there might be someone on the inside only half-phased him, it would make sense why these murders have been covered up for so long.  _ But where the hell did Verlac fit into this? _

“Okay, we need to get back to the precinct and tell Luke, we’ve got to rethink this whole case.” 

They wait a bit longer until they’re sure there is no more movement around the docks, before quickly and quietly making their getaway. 

Once back at the precinct, they go directly to Luke to report their findings, who didn’t even seem all that surprised. “Something never sat right with me when he transferred here last year.” He frowns and flinches when something seems to click in his head. “You two go get some rest tonight, tomorrow I’ll talk to I.A.B. and we’ll gather a team we know we can trust to figure out the best way to handle this. Good job gentlemen.” Luke gives them a nod and promptly dismisses them. 

As they leave the office, Jace locks eyes with Clary and tells Alec he’ll see him tomorrow before he makes his escape, leaving Alec to return to their desk alone. He starts to pack up his bag, grabbing the case files and slipping on his blazer. He’s just about finished packing when he sees Magnus coming out of his office. He wants to go over and talk to him but is swiftly discouraged when he sees Santiago following him out, the two huddled together and speaking softly.

With his heart a little weaker than it was this morning, he grabs his things and heads toward the doors, waiting for the other men to pass so they don’t notice him.

* 

The next morning he’s back in the office and notices Luke’s door shut, probably in the Internal Affairs meeting, and is happy to know that his Captain was already taking actions to make headway in their case. He just puts his bags down when Magnus is coming out of the break room, a coffee cup in one hand, and eyes sparkling when he sees him.

“Alexander, just the man I was looking for. Can I see you in my office please?” He says walking away without waiting for an answer again.

Alec swallows hard, a little nervous as to why Magnus would be calling him, but nevertheless he obeys. He hears Santiago muffle something under his breath when he passes him and while he can’t make it out it does make him want to roll his eyes.

Magnus is sitting on his desk with his legs crossed and reading a file when he comes in, “Make yourself comfortable. I took the liberty of pouring you a cup, it’s the same as the first time.” He motions to the table between the couches and sure enough, there’s a chunky mug of steaming coffee waiting for him. 

He mumbles a ‘thanks’ before making himself comfortable on the large blue couch, “Was there a specific reason you wanted to see me?” 

“While I always want to see your beautiful face, yes, there are a few things we need to touch on.” His voice is soft and silky, calming the nerves that Alec felt jumping everywhere. He closes the door and flicks on the little switch for the outside lightbulb and comes to sit opposite Alec in the yellow armchair. 

“Let’s talk about your first week here, how is everything fairing?” His eyes are kind and he seemed genuine like he really did care whether or not Alec was doing well.

“Um, it’s good, it’s nice to be able to work with Jace. We have always had each other’s back so nothing’s really changed. You guys feel like an actual team here, it wasn’t too much like that in Manhattan.” 

He takes a sip of his coffee and has to bite his lip to stop from moaning out loud, it was just as good as the first time and seemed to be exactly what he needed. 

“Good. I’m glad to hear that, we do tend to focus on team building here. I’ve made it a point that we try to get at least one night a month to have a meal together. I’ll make sure you get the invite to the next one.”

The idea warms a little something inside of him, he’s always had a rocky family life and knowing he might have a found family makes him feel  _ wanted. _

He nods quickly, trying not to come off too excited, “Yeah, I’d love that.” He tries to hide his grin by taking another sip of his coffee. 

The smile that Magnus gives him is beautiful, and Alec wants to make it his life’s mission to be the one responsible for it as much as he can. His eyes drifted over to the big calendar on the wall, having caught his eye the first time he walked in here, “So what’s up with the big calendar and the secret language?”

Magnus turns and looks at it before chuckling softly, “It’s how I keep track of everything. And I do mean everything. It keeps my appointments organized, but also lets me know if a day is significant for someone in the office, like an anniversary or birthday.”

He eyes the day he knows Jace and John were attacked, the only indication of it being a pair of initials, “Wow, you’re basically this entire precinct's support system.” He whispers looking at how busy this week was alone. 

The older man just waves a hand, “It’s my job. But I like being there for people anyways. Now, this might seem odd, but I wanted to talk to you about Jace.” At Alec’s raised eyebrow he started to explain himself further. “As I’m sure you know, we’re on the year anniversary of the Lilith incident, and while I’ve already spoken to Jace, I also wanted to speak to you about things as his brother.”

“Me?” Alec frowned confused, it being rare that anyone ever asked about him.

“Yes dear, I know you were at a different precinct, but he’s still your brother and he almost died, in fact, he was hospitalized for a good portion of a month, that experience can be very traumatizing for some people.”

Alec swallows hard and thinks back to that month Jace was recovering. The shrapnel had torn through one of his lungs, leaving him on a respirator and not to mention the damage it had done to his legs and a few other organs. Alec, Izzy, and Clary basically lived at his bedside, rotating out and watching over him as he went through surgery after surgery. Alec never admitted but he did struggle the first two weeks, terrified to death that Jace may not make it out. As the older brother he was always used to being able to watch over his siblings, and the incident had made him feel powerless and as if he failed at taking care of him. 

He doesn’t know how it happens but he ends up spilling all of those thoughts to Magnus at that moment, never having the chance to voice it to anyone else. “And I guess maybe it was the reason I transferred over here. I told Izzy I’d always support her, but knowing I could be able to watch over both of them was the biggest motivator.” 

When he finally meets Magnus’ eyes again they’re kind and soft, his gaze that of admiration, something Alec considered a stranger. He feels mesmerized for a second, like all of the air of the room was sucked out and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. It takes a second for him to come back to himself when he realizes Magnus had started talking to him. “You’re their big brother, it’s only natural you feel protective of them, own it. That little ball of guilt you harbor is there because you let it, a part of you truly thinks that had you been with him or in this precinct you would’ve been able to save him sooner, quicker. You need to learn that there will be some things you can’t control especially if they’re in the past, and you can only take what you have learned and move forward.”

Alec has heard this speech before, if it wasn’t Jace drilling it into him it was Izzy, both siblings wanting Alec to know that he didn’t have to protect and shield them from everything, but hearing it from Magnus makes Alec feel like this is the first time he believes any of it. “I want to work on that, the whole not needing to be in control all the time, I think it eats at me more than I’m willing to admit.”

Magnus smiles at him and Alec can’t tell if it’s of pity or awe but he enjoys it nonetheless. They talk a bit more about things, Alec oddly opening up to him and Magnus giving him little pieces of advice intertwined with his own personal experiences. They wrap up their talk with updates about the case before he’s being called away by Garroway. As Magnus walks him out he gives Alec a comforting pat, “I think this was a good first session don’t you?”

“This was a session?” Alec furrowed his brow.

“Of sorts, I did want to see how your first week went, but something told me you sometimes have trouble asking for help. I thought you might not come to me of your own volition, this was my way around that.” And at least Magnus looked a little bit sheepish into admitting that.

Alec blushed because he’s probably had only a handful of conversations with him, but it seemed like Magnus already knew more about him than he did. “You’re not wrong,” he mumbles and rubs at the spot between his fingers, not being able to make eye contact.

There’s a moment of silence between them, each contemplating what they should say next. It ends up being a knock on the door that breaks it. When Alec opens it he’s face to face with heterochromia eyes, flashing with urgency, “Alec, we really gotta go.”

Alec gives him a jerky nod, “Yeah yeah, I’ll meet you in there.” Jace flicks his eyes to Magnus and gives him a nod before leaving.

“Well thank you for this, I really appreciated it.” 

Magnus smiles, “I’m glad I could be of service. But I was serious when I said I’d be here for you, my door is always open.”

“Yeah, I- um. I’d like to try. Do you think we could do this again? I’m free next Tuesday around lunch?” Alec had no clue what had come over him suggesting it but once it was out there he found himself excited to see it through.

Magnus perked up at the idea, heading over to the massive calendar against the wall and checked under next Wednesday’s date. “I have lunch with a partner, so I might be a little late, but otherwise yes that sounds perfect.” He didn’t even glance at Alec when he wrote his initials at the time slot.

At the mention of his partner, Alec’s heart sunk once again but tried to hide it as much as possible, agreeing to the time and thanking him before exiting, cursing himself silently as he made his way into Garroway’s office.

“Hey, sorry about that I was finishing with Magnus, what’s up?” He asks, coming in and flinching when a man in a nice suit slams the door behind him.

“These are Agents Starkweather from F.B.I and Rey from I.A.B. they have some information that they’ve kept  _ private _ but are now willing to share regarding the Morgenstern case.” Luke’s voice was hard and laced with annoyance and both could tell he was barely holding it together.

Rey clears his throat and gives both of them a file. “What we are about to tell you does not leave this room. Valentine Morgenstern is wanted by almost every agency in the state as well as various international ones. His charges include human and drug trafficking, various counts of murder or contract killing, extortion, corruption of public officials, the list goes on.”

“There is already a task force in place with representatives from every agency he’s wanted by and we are willing to share what they’ve collected as long as you are willing to do the same.”

Alec can’t help but feel wrong about those words because while they all had one common goal, the bigger agencies always had another angle and most of the time it was political. But he also knows he would never be able to get justice for the girls and their families if he didn’t take the deal. 

He looks over at Jace who’s reading a file, both of them knowing he doesn’t actually get a say in it, and nods anyways, sure that Lydia would be okay with this.

The meeting from then on is various pieces of information on the two men, how Valentine’s son, Jonathan Morgenstern was known as  _ The Ghost _ , and Valentine’s personal errand boy. 

“Everything that Valentine is charged with, few he did personally. He mainly calls the shots and deals with the business side of things. However, rumor has it the two are on the brink of a fallout. Jonathan is starting to drift off and do his own thing, so many higher-ups in Valentine’s hierarchy are getting anxious and wary of him.” Starkweather shows some pictures of other victims that look similar to his.

When he notices the same circle tattoo he points it out to Jace, realizing now that it's not a cult, it's a  _ brand.  _ “So what’s the significance of this tattoo? If this is his mark or whatever, why is he killing off his stock?”

“We think it’s because they’ve tried to escape, and it’s his way of warning others.” He shrugs, “It’s hard to say, we’ve sent many undercovers in an attempt to infiltrate, but each one has either shown up missing or dead before we could get any of that information. It’s another reason why we think he’s paying off dirty cops.”

“Like Sebastian?” Jace interjects, the first words he’s said the whole time.

Starkweather flinches just the slightest bit but shakes his head, “He’s one of ours, we sent him a few months back, but he’s still working his way to the top so his assignment is on a need-to-know basis. His cover is that he really is a dirty cop, but I wouldn’t suggest being seen with him, Valentine is paranoid and regularly has him tailed, we don’t need you two getting on his radar too.”

They finish up a few more questions and swap any other pieces of information before the two make their exit, leaving Alec and Jace alone with Garroway. 

Alec still had some questions and things he wanted clarity on, and a few points they made that didn’t sit right with him, but he figures he’d better consult with Lydia first. Garroway tells them to be careful, especially regarding who they trust with privileged information, and sends them on their way.

*

When Lydia finally comes back the next day, Alec debriefs her, relaying as much as he could and updating her with what Lewis has found. 

“So you’re thinking that Jonathan, the son, is using dating apps to find these girls?” Lydia asks flicking through their dating profiles.

“I think so. Also something didn’t make sense with what Starkweather said, he thinks these girls are being killed because they ran away and it’s a warning to the others.” He starts writing on the whiteboard the dates they were declared missing and the dates their bodies were found.

“But they all went missing at once and were found exactly one week apart.”

Lydia shrugs looking at the dates, “Maybe they all escaped together?”

_ Maybe.  _ He just doesn’t understand why Valentine would use the son he’s having a fallout with to continue his dirty work.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Lewis coming in. “Hey Alec, I did my best to find as many messages as possible, but their servers only back up so much. But it looks like all of the vics had at least one match in common.” He hands him over the guys file, “And the pictures of him are all fake, they’re all pulled off some bodybuilder dude in Germany so that was a dead end.”

Alec reads the name of the profile,  _ Jonathan Fairchild,  _ and skims over the sent messages, cringing at the bad pick up lines and cheesy innuendos. “Most of these end up with him getting their phone number,” He groans knowing damn well none of the vics had any personal items with them when they were found.

“Is there any way we can still get whatever messages sent without the phone?”

Simon scratches the back of his head, “I can try but no promises.”

He thanks him again and he and Lydia continue to work on things, trying to figure out how and why these girls got killed in different increments.

*

After spending some time in the 67, Alec was quickly getting a reputation of a hard-ass. His interrogations, while all by the book, were intense, his questions grueling and voice void of any compassion. Each suspect that went in there only lasted so long under his intense gaze and blurted out any information they could. His determination was almost unparalleled. He was normally the first one there and the last one to go home, not being able to leave his desk until he was sure he had given it his all.

He and Lydia were closing cases just as fast as they were landing on their desk, their teamwork, and like-mindedness being the driving force to their success. However despite his new reputation, it gave him no leverage with the higher-ups and, as expected, he continued to get stonewalled by all the agencies making him grow irritated and restless. 

Then of course was the matter of Magnus.

He had continued to bump into the man daily after their first unofficial session, and each time the older man would flirt with him, confusing him even more. He wasn’t the type to fall fast, but there was something about the man that made his heart flutter with every interaction. He was still confused about their relationship status though, and Alec had wondered why Magnus was being so cryptic about it and his ‘partner’ instead of being up front with him- he supposes there’s a reason for that though.

Come Tuesday the only thing he could look forward to was his meeting with the man. It was his main motivator for getting through his interviews with suspects from other cases this morning.

Around lunchtime, he was all too ready to drop everything and head over to the corner office. He’s just about to knock when Raphael comes out of his office and Alec is suddenly reminded that Magnus did mention having lunch with his partner. His heart gives a disappointed thump as it falls, but he averts his eyes in the hope to not give it away.

Santiago just gives him a nod, “Lightwood.” Before turning to look  back at Magnus, “I’ll see you there Friday then.” He doesn’t give Alec a second look before heading in the direction of the bullpen.

Magnus pops his head out, “Alexander, just in time come on in.” He greets and steps aside, flicking the light on when the door closes behind them. Alec sees the room has been set up, the lights dimmed and there are a few candles lit to give off the smell of cinnamon and a calming vibe. On the table between the chairs is a cup of steaming coffee already waiting for him.

He takes off his blazer and drapes it over the back of the big blue couch, “Thanks again for seeing me, I know you’re a busy man.”

Magnus grabs his own cup and takes a seat across from him, it takes him only moments to realize that the man looks really good in yellow. “Of course Alexander, happy to help. So before we get started I just want to talk about our expectations for each other.” He grabs a notebook and turns to a fresh page.

“A few things, I won’t beg you to talk to me. I expect you to come here and be present. As such it’s fair to expect from me that I will listen and help guide you to where you want to be. That being said I can’t help you if I don’t know what the end goal is, so I want to start off by having you tell me somethings you want to work on.” He smiles comfortingly and poised his pencil atop the paper, ready to listen.

Alec bit his lip not ever really having thought about what he would want to improve. “Well, last week I mentioned that control thing. I just want the people I love safe.”

“That’s not a bad thing, darling,” Magnus mumbled, writing it down and nodding for him to continue.

Alec tries to ignore the butterflies he gets at the nickname and continues speaking, “I tend to blame myself for things I think. Something that just comes along with the title of firstborn I guess.” He pauses for Magnus but the man is just looking at him with soft and patient eyes. 

“Um, I think that’s it? Everything I’m aware of at least.” He shrugs fiddling with the mug.

He watches as Magnus finishes up writing a few more things before closing the notebook and putting it down. “It’s a good start, we can add to it if we want as time goes on. Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?”

And that’s how much of their first official session went, Alec, telling stories of his childhood and Magnus making comments here or there, pointing out certain situations on why Alec might feel certain ways about things now. 

_ “So with neither of your parents around that much, it seems like you practically raised those two?” _

_ “I mean I guess, I kind of knew that taking care of them was just something I was supposed to do.” _

_ “That’s fair, but do you think that was fair to you?” _

_ “What do you mean?” _

_ “Do you think it’s fair that you spent your childhood raising your siblings?” _

When they’re done, he feels so much lighter than he was when he first walked in, feeling like for the first time in a while he could breathe a little easier.

He thanks Magnus again and they schedule another meeting for next week, around the same time. They talk a little bit about the Morgenstern case before Magnus tells him he has another appointment and leads him out with a gentle hand on his lower back.

When he gets back to the conference room, he sees Lydia who must have just returned from lunch and goes in so they can talk about their next step.

“Damn, what did you do for lunch? If it was drugs don’t tell me but if it was food I wanna know what you ate that mellowed you out so much.” And Alec blushes at being called out on how obvious his lack of grumpiness was.

He rolls his eyes and hands her another file, “Nothing, but we got the forensic report for that bank robbing on 48th. Prints and a few hairs but no matches. I think our best bet is running through all the video footage.” 

“Agreed, I’ll get us set up in AV.” She grabs the things and heads that way. Alec is just about to join her when he gets stopped by Jace who had just come back from patrol. “Hey Alec, I’m about to grab lunch but you, Izzy, and I should grab a drink Friday at Hunter’s Moon?”

“Yeah that sounds good, you gonna bring Clary?” He smirked and raised an eyebrow at the redhead talking to Aline in the corner.

Jace turns his head to try and hide his smile but nods, “Yeah if you’re okay with it, I’d like you to get to know her properly and outside of work.”

Alec just rolls his eyes but gives him a pat on the back, “Then, of course, I’ll let Iz know.” They talked a little more before Magnus was calling Jace away. 

*

His lightheartedness from his visit with Magnus calmed him down for the rest of the day and all day Wednesday, but when Lewis came in with the bad news on Thursday that he couldn’t trace messages, just like that Alec’s mood turned sour. 

It was after he got too annoyed with a suspect during an interrogation when Lydia suggested he take a walk.

_ “Even you can’t be that stupid.” _

_ “I swear, I had no clue that’s what she was going to use it for.” _

_ “Bullshit.” He slams a hand on the table, “You’re walking a thin line here, and I’m getting impatient, give up Heidi and maybe I won’t throw you in lock up.” _

He was passing by Magnus’ office when he literally ran into the man coming out of it, “Oh Magnus I’m so sorry.” Alec apologized as he steadied the colorful man.

“No worries dear, I was just going to run to the restroom.” He gave him a small smile before frowning, “is something wrong? You look tense.” 

“Just annoyed with these cases is all. Feels like all of them are at a standstill.”

Magnus gave him an understanding hum and a pat on the chest, “I’ll be writing up some profiles in my office for the next few hours if you want to lay on the couch?” 

And honestly, the offer sounded  _ so  _ good, “No, no I couldn’t.” He mumbled but couldn’t stop the yawn coming out of his mouth. It brings a giggle out of Magnus that made Alec’s heart flutter.

“Please I insist, there are blankets in the basket too, I’ll be right back but go ahead and make yourself at home.” He gave Alec a little pat on the shoulder before whisking away down the hall.

He thinks about the offer for a bit and knows he should say no, shouldn’t let himself fall for someone who’s already in a relationship, but the idea of being and staying close to Magnus sounds exactly like what he needs right now. So before he can talk himself out of it, he goes into the office and hangs up his blazer on a stand before stretching his long limbs out on the couch.

As he’s laying there he feels his brain finally turning off and his eyes slipping shut,  _ just five minutes… _

He’s woken up by someone running their fingers through his hair, and he lets out a little snuffle as he leans into the touch. Whoever is touching him giggles and gives him a little shake, “Alexander, dear, it’s time to wake up.”

The honey-sweet voice pulls him out of his sleep and it takes him far too long to remember why there was another voice in the room anyway. He forces his eyes up, blinking blearily at the golden man on top of him. 

“There you are, I wanted to let you know you spent the hour passed out, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to go longer than that.” 

Alec furrows his brows trying to process what Magnus has just said before his eyes widened and he sat up quickly, throwing the blanket- _ when had that gotten there?  _ Off of him.

“Shit! Magnus, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean-”

“Alexander, calm down it was no trouble at all, your little snores kept me company while I finished the rest of my profiles for the day. I only woke you up because I wanted you to eat something before you went back to work.”

Alec rubbed at his face, “I’ll grab something from downstairs, thank you so much for letting me crash.”

Magnus waved his hand and shook his head, “As I said, no worries, you’re always welcome here.” He stood up and held out his hand to help Alec up, who took it graciously. 

He smoothed out his shirt and grabbed his blazer, slipping it on and giving another smile to Magnus. Said man readjusted his tie with a smirk before sending him off with a pat on his shoulder.

He hated to admit how much better he felt after that nap and can’t help but think this is the second time he would be leaving Magnus’ office way better than he came in. The thought suddenly reminds him of one of his cases and he’s hurrying out to go tell Lydia.

Lydia listens intently as Alec tells her about his theory that their suspect that killed their victim must’ve changed their appearance before they left the hotel for the second time. She finds it hard to believe but they pull the footage and sure enough, they see Pangborn discarding the other articles of clothing in trash cans outside the hotel. Lydia makes a not so subtle joke that whatever he’s doing his lunchtime activities are helping.

Finally being able to close one of their many cases has Alec feeling better for what’s left of the week, and probably the only reason he’s in a good mood when he, Jace, Izzy, and Clary make their way to The Hunter’s Moon Friday night. 

They’ve already got a round of drinks in them and are about to start on the second one when Jace nudges him with his shoulder, “Dude look Mags is here, I’m gonna go say hi, do you want to come with?” 

Before he could answer, Izzy was whipping her hair around in his direction, “Is this the same Magnus you keep talking about big brother? The one with the pretty eyes?” She teases prompting a laugh out of Clary.

He blushes at being called out, knowing damn well he had been ranting to Izzy about his crush on Magnus for the past two weeks now. He turns to tell Jace Izzy was just kidding but the blonde boy was already up and out of his seat, walking over to Magnus.

Alec grumbled and downed the rest of his drink, wincing at the burn and forcing himself to go over. 

As he approaches he can see that Magnus is surrounded by beautiful people, two girls and three guys, one of which is Santiago. The girls themselves are dainty but from what he can tell are fueling the energy at the table, while the guys were both darker skinned and with sharp features.

“Alexander, how nice of you to stop by!” Magnus called out loudly as he got closer. Immediately the others turn towards him, and Alec feels himself get anxious at the number of eyes staring at him. 

He gives a little wave and each of them gives a hello and a wave as well, save for Santiago who just gives him a head nod.

“Jace, Alexander, I’d like you to meet my friends, Etta, Elias, Imasu, Dot, and you already know sweet Rapha here.” Magnus chuckles cupping said boy’s cheek. “Why don’t you come join us? There’s plenty of room and I would love to meet dear Isabelle!” 

And Alec really wanted to say no because the last thing he wants to do is hang out with Magnus and his boyfriend but Jace is already nodding excitedly, running off, and bringing the girls over. Accepting his fate, Alec and  _ Imasu? _ Start bringing around more chairs so they can all squeeze at the table. Somehow Alec found himself seated between Magnus and Jace, an irony he chose to ignore. 

Magnus and Izzy get on quickly, talking about anything and everything from the most recent New York Fashion Week to subatomic nuclear particles (it takes Alec a second to remember one of the many degrees Magnus has was a minor in chemistry). He also finds himself in conversation with Etta, who also grew up in Manhattan and liked to perform where she could.

He’s in the middle of talking to her when out of the corner of his eye he sees Magnus and Dot get up to get everyone a round of drinks, and while they’re waiting at the bar his eyes widened and his heart skips when he sees them kiss. He tries his best to hide his surprise and flash of jealousy, grateful when Etta doesn’t seem to notice. 

When Magnus and Dot get back they all seem to switch conversation partners again, and Alec thinks it’s the best time to finally get some clarity on his heartbreak.

“So you and Dot?” He tries to ask nonchalantly, not making eye contact as his fingers tap on the half-empty pint of beer in front of him.

Magnus furrows his brows and turns his head, “What about us?”

“I-I just thought you were dating Santiago?”

At that Magnus gives a little chuckle and for a second looks nervous, fiddling with one of his ear cuffs. “Alexander I tend to be a bit,  _ untraditional _ with my relationships. Raphael and I attempted to date, long ago when we first became friends, but we soon realized it wouldn’t work out for us. He has been dating Simon for a while now anyway. It wasn’t until after I had broken up with a long term girlfriend that I began to work on a partnership system.”

He isn’t that shocked to learn that Lewis isn’t straight, and really wants to ask about him and Santiago dating but he’s too focused on the confusion surrounding the ‘untraditional relationships’ part.

Sensing his confusion, Magnus starts to explain, “I dedicated my life to this job, helping others and bringing closure to the families of victims. It means I don’t have a lot of time to date, so throughout the years I have formed partnerships, a handful of people I trust and love enough to satisfy each other's needs. Everyone you’ve met tonight is a partner of mine.”

His eyes widened at the new information, looking around the table at each of them, realizing that Magnus has and continues to be intimate with all of them. When he brings his attention back to Magnus it seems the man is holding his breath, scared of what Alec might say.

And the thing is Alec doesn’t know  _ what to say.  _ Having multiple partners isn’t a bad thing, before Jace met Clary, he and Izzy practically made it a competition when they went out at night. But it’s the fact that they’re all sitting around the same table, being cordial and enjoying each other’s company is the weird thing to him.

“Oh. That’s um, that’s cool. They all know though right?” His throat is suddenly dry and he drinks more. 

“Yes, yes we’re really big on communication between all of us. Maybe it’s just the therapist in me talking, but being honest with all of them has been the whole reason why this thing works.” He shrugs emptying his martini. 

Alec nods at everything he’s saying, not really sure what or how to ask the questions without sounding like a jackass.

Magnus seems to know the look on his face and can’t help but let out a chuckle, “Go ahead ask your questions.”

He bit his lip but quickly blurted it out, “How does it work? Don’t any of them get jealous? What if you found someone you wanted to date?”

Magnus gives him a sly smirk, “Why, are you offering?” Before Alec can sputter out a retort, Magnus winks and continues, “This partnership works mainly because we’re all friends, I already have an emotional relationship with all of them, adding sex into it means that I have close to everything I need. If we want to call it all off we understand that there’s no hard feelings.”

That itself made Alec frown, “No hard feelings? Just like that?” 

“Just like that. We’ll all stay friends, of course, these people here have been here for me through a lot. The sex is just a benefit.”

“Is this because you’re scared of commitment?” The second the words came out of his mouth he wanted to slap himself silly.  _ Shut the fuck up Lightwood. _

Alec felt himself blush, mortified at the lack of filter he had around Magnus. He’s stared down rapists, he’s cuffed murderers, but for some damn reason, Magnus Bane made him incoherent.

Magnus seemed to find his incessant rambling cute, “No I get that question a lot actually. It’s not that I’m scared of commitment, I just haven’t met anyone I would be ready to commit to. I like to think that when the time comes, I’ll know. Plus, my commitment issues have nothing to do with my sexuality and everything to do with my previous trauma. So even if I were straight, I’d still spread my legs for four women.”

The answer reminds Alec that the man is human like the rest of them, despite how perfect he might come across as. It also reminds him that Magnus was everything he wanted to be, sure, and honest with himself, out,  _ proud.  _ He thinks he might be developing more than just a crush. 

He continues asking about his system and thankfully Magnus didn’t seem to mind the invasive questions, answering them patiently and honestly. When they started wrapping up the night, Alec learned more about Magnus’ past life, his adventures with the people at this very table and it felt like that night was the first time their relationship went above just work colleagues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment and kudos if you liked, I love hearing from you all!!!
> 
> Thank you again for all the love, until next week!
> 
> Em.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back for chapter 3!!!
> 
> Can't believe we're halfway through! Thank you to everyone so much for the love and the motivation to continue this, the support and the feedback is amazing <3
> 
> As always thank you to Kim, my beta, and Charlie my bestest cheerleader, without either of them this would be sitting in a draft folder never to see the light of day.
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Em

The next few weeks go by as smoothly as they possibly can. There’s no movement in the Morgenstern case yet, and Verlac hasn’t been in the office since they saw him at the docks, but they have been able to close a few more cases, including Alec’s first double murder. He also continues his sessions with Magnus, who helps him come to terms with acknowledging how emotionally abusing his parents were.

" _ It’s okay to be angry with them, whether or not they knew they were hurting you, they placed a lot of expectations on your shoulders from a young age.” _

And, 

_" Would you think it’s fair to say they were overly critical of you? That type of treatment tends to harm our self-esteem in the future.” _

And one of the most important he thinks, 

“ _ This is your life Alexander, yet you put everyone’s happiness above yours your entire life. Is that just to you?” _

_ “Maybe not but it was the right thing to do.” _

_ “For who?” _

They somehow even continue his Thursday afternoon naps, Magnus all too happy to let Alec rest during their lunch period. His time with Magnus always seems to be his favorite time of the week, and he tries to brush off the comments he gets on how cathartic he is after.

On one of his Friday nights with his siblings, Jace finally brings it up.

“So what’s going on with you and Mags?” He teased when Izzy went to take a call on the balcony.

The two of them sit around the bar area, Alec leaning down and close to keep their conversation private.

“What are you talking about? I go to him for sessions just like you do?” His deflection techniques were just about as good as his lying techniques.

Jace snorts at that, “I mean I’m not blind. Yeah sure I go to him for sessions, but you go twice a week, and each time you come out you look like you just got laid.”

Alec’s cheeks pink at that because Jace knows damn well he’s still a virgin. “He just understands me is all. It’s nice to have someone like that.”

And wasn’t that an understatement.

He might be new to this whole love and relationship thing, but Magnus made him feel something he couldn’t even put into words. Growing up his parents kept pushing the idea of a traditional life; school, badge, wife, kids, commissioner, he never even dared to have a thought that wasn’t in his ten-year plan. The idea of deviating from that terrified and excited him all at once, the feeling addicting and leaving him craving for more.

His thoughts are interrupted as Jace sighs and squeezes his shoulder as he comes around from the bar so they’re standing eye to eye, “Look it’s okay to admit you have feelings for him, he’s a good guy. Hot too."

Alec glares at him after the last part but chooses to ignore it, focusing more on the fact that (for the first time) Jace isn’t wrong. Magnus is amazing, sharp, witty, brilliant yet kind and compassionate, he felt like the home Alec had been looking for all his life. “He’s just so much in the best way, degrees like crazy, he’s well-traveled, cultured, experienced, and I’m just- I’m nothing special.”

He hears the slap on his back before he actually feels the sting. “Alec don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re a great guy too, hell me and Izzy wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for you. Magnus would be lucky to have you.”

“But his partners-”

“What about them? He’s not in a relationship with any of them, I can tell you when he loves, dude loves with his whole ass heart.”

Alec runs a hand through his hair, he didn’t want to seem critical of how Magnus chose to live his life, but he can’t help but feel inadequate when it came to them. And who’s to say that Magnus would even want him? He already had four others (that he knew of) and he knew he wasn’t anything special to give that up.

“You have strong feelings for him brother, that’s already more than any of those people. Look, why don’t you talk to him about it? You and I both know he would appreciate that more,” Jace reasons.

And it is rare that Jace is the one comforting Alec and being the rational one, but it’s pretty nice the few times it happens. Plus at least they both agree he’s easy on the eyes.

“Just ask him out. If the partner thing is the big issue then he’ll tell you,” Jace shrugs again and steals the last bit of cake Alec brought on his way home from work. 

“You’re going to ask Magnus out?  _ Fucking finally _ !” Izzy screamed as she came from the balcony.

And Alec knew there was no way he was winning this one tonight.

*

“Magnus just ask the boy out!” Elias grumbled as he was draped across Magnus’ lap in his loft. 

Magnus groaned and let his head fall back against the couch, he had been rotating through his partners almost daily, attempting to deal with all the sexual frustration one Mr. Alexander Lightwood was giving him.

“I don’t even know if he likes me, he doesn’t respond to any of my flirting, and he’s never expressed that he’s interested in being more than just friends.”

Elias struggled to sit up a little before giving Magnus a hard  _ thwack _ on the shoulder. “You idiot, I saw the way he was looking at you at the bar. All of us tried to hold a conversation with him but all he wanted to talk about was how helpful you were in the investigations. Not to mention every time you walked away from the table he watched you like a lovesick puppy until you came back.”

Magnus pouted and pretended to rub his wounded shoulder. 

“And don’t even get me started on how ridiculous you are.”

“Hey, I’m not-”

“Oh Alexander did this, Alexander did that, you watched him interview a suspect once and wouldn’t shut up about it for a week!”

And okay maybe that part was true, but Magnus really couldn’t help it! The suspect was in the fishbowl, his hands cuffed to the table while Alec interrogated him. The detective was calm yet fierce, his voice strong in his convictions, demanding answers and taking no shit.  _ The man truly was a force of nature. _

Lydia and Magnus had stood behind the glass, silently watching. Lydia was taking notes while Magnus just gaped. Seeing Alec in his element was something he had never witnessed before. His verbal punches holding nothing but power behind each word, a true testament to his path to righteousness. 

It was weird to see such a juxtaposition between the man on his blue couch and the man behind the glass, and Magnus will admit the contrast was strikingly beautiful. 

“I can’t help it, he’s only been a detective for a little over a month but it’s like this was his calling you know? He’s passionate and determined, he might be on this path because his parents wanted him too, but it’s so very admirable how his tenacity for justice is his driving force and-”

Magnus shuts up when he sees Elias looking at him with awe and maybe just the slightest bit of resignation in his eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Elias shrugs and readjusts himself so he’s straddling Magnus’ waist and wrapping his arms around the other man’s shoulder so they’re eye to eye. “I’m looking at you like this because it’s been a long time since I’ve heard you talk about someone this way.”

The two of them had been the first to partner up. While they had met in high school they kept contact through college, and after  _ her, _ Elias had been there to help put the pieces back together. Yes, he and Raphael were close, but Elias knew him and his heart better than anybody he had ever known. 

“What are you trying to say?” 

Elias just gives him a kind smile, “I’m saying, maybe we should break up.”

And wasn’t that a scary thought to him? He knew a part of him was using his partners as a safety blanket of sorts, and once upon a time the thought of giving them up and getting himself back out there  _ terrified  _ him. But something about Alec gave him the courage to try and for right now that was all he needed.

“Me too.”

*

Later that weekend, Alec, Jace, and Izzy had a scheduled Sunday night dinner with their parents, something they had insisted on now that all of their kids had left the nest. Alec dreaded them and only put up with it so they wouldn’t through a bitch fit at Jace and Izzy.

The three of them had just arrived at the overpriced restaurant when they found their parents in the corner and begrudgingly made their way over. Jace easily fell into his role and started a conversation with Maryse, complementing her new haircut and joking with Robert. Izzy made sure to stray away from the topic of work, not wanting them to provoke them into a verbal attack, and simply tried to keep the attention on them.

Alec’s part during these dinners was much like how it was growing up, delegating himself to the background, making himself small, and absolutely not offering up any more information than what was asked of him.

Once Jace relayed as many street stories as he could, and Izzy could only talk so much about Robert’s job as Deputy Chief, they turned their attention to Alec.

“So Alec, how is Brooklyn treating you? Do you miss our side of town yet?” Robert smirked, leaning back in his chair.

He tried so hard to hold back his eye roll, he really did. “Everything’s good, they keep me busy over there.”

“And how is your partner? She’s a Branwell right? She’d be a good choice.” Alec really didn’t like where this conversation was going.

“She’s a great detective, we get the job done.” He grits out, knowing both Jace and Izzy could tell how annoyed he was getting, their eyes flicking back and forth from one another.

“You know what we mean Alec, she comes from a long line of blue, we even knew her grandfather awhile back. Maybe you could bring her to lunch one day.” Maryse smiled tightly, as if what she was proposing was acceptable enough.

The grip he had on his cup was so strong he was scared he was going to shatter it.

“Hey did I ever tell you guys about this stakeout Alec and I did?” Jace tries to interject and change the subject.

“One second Jace, we’re trying to figure out why Alec is so against getting together with Lydia.” Robert holds up a finger to the blonde boy and raises an eyebrow at Alec. “Well?”

Alec puts the glass down before it breaks, “She’s a good detective,” He repeats, “And I’m glad to have her at my back, but that is all our relationship will ever be. She is more than a last name and a career boost.” 

Maryse eyes him before flicking her eyes to Robert, “Alec, we’re just concerned, you’re at a good point in your career and we thought you just worked so hard you had no time for relationships, but don’t you think it’s time you start looking to settle down?"

“Whether or not I do, it’s not any of your business. But leave Lydia out of it.” He growls, jaw set. 

Robert leans forward, glare hardening, “You’ll be smart to watch your tone with us, we are still your parents and you will show us respect. I think we have a right to be concerned why our oldest has yet to find a suitable girlfriend, and it’s only reasonable we seek to ramify that.”

Jace and Izzy have both gone quiet, knowing Alec had to handle this one on his own.

He takes a deep breath and tries to stay calm, not wanting to make a scene, “I want to be very clear about this, father, mother.” He eyes both of them and swallows hard, “I am not looking for a girlfriend, and I never will.” 

Izzy’s hands jerks to hold onto his above the table, and Alec squeezes it in thanks. 

Robert still looks confused, eyebrows furrowed while Maryse looks like she’s finally understanding, but Alec can’t quite read the look that flashes across her face.

“What are you talking about?” 

Alec gives Izzy’s hand another squeeze before simply shrugging, “I’m gay. Always have been, always will.”

Everyone seems to hold their breath in that moment, no one daring to say anything as eyes flit from one to another. 

“No you’re not.” Robert growls, voice having gone dangerously low.

“Robert, I think-”

“No.” He shoots a glare at Maryse to silence her, “No, Alec we talked about this, four years at Jay, a few on beat then continue moving up until commissioner, marry a nice  _ girl _ from a blue family, uphold our reputation, that is your job,  _ you know this.” _

Alec closes his eyes, disappointment and hurt ebbing through his veins. He thinks about backing down, about conceding to just get them off his back for a while. He knows it’s not an ideal situation, but-

_ But nothing _ , he hears Magnus’ voice in the back of his head. 

It’s then he thinks of the man he had spent the past month with, hearing his voice and telling him to fight for his happiness,  _ he deserved it after all. _ But he’d like to think that he isn’t doing this for Magnus, isn’t doing this for someone who may or may not even have the same feelings back. He’d like to think he’s doing this for himself, because even if he didn’t end up with Magnus, it didn’t change things. It didn’t change his sexuality, it didn’t change his parents' expectations of him and if he didn’t do this now he was resigning himself to a lifetime of battles that had no rhyme or reason being fought.

He lets out a breath and opens his eyes back, flicking between Maryse who he swears looks in a weird kind of way,  _ proud,  _ and Robert who looks like the Anger emotion dude from Inside-Out Magnus suggested he watch (“ _ It’s a great way to understand emotions, dear.” “Magnus it’s a cartoon...” _ ).

“I get that’s what you expected, but that’s not what will be happening.” He says, voice as steady as possible. “I am gay, and I’m sorry that wasn’t part of your plan, but it’s not changing, and I’m not hiding it anymore. And to be honest, I don’t really care if you approve or not.”

Robert’s fist clenching and unclenching from the table, “Alexander Gid-”

“That’s Alec to you.” His voice is stronger and harder than he felt but he was rolling with it.

“You’re just going to throw away everything we worked for? Just like that? Our reputation, our standing, does that mean nothing to you?” The man’s voice was raising, a few patrons turning heads.

Alec lets out a disbelieving laugh, shaking his head, “I can’t believe that’s all you care for. I would think me being happy, finding someone, meant  _ something _ to you.” He takes the folded up napkin from his lap and sets it on the table before standing up. “And for the record, my sexuality has nothing to do with my capabilities as an officer. I don’t care to uphold such an arbitrary concept, but I will, and  _ when _ I do, it’ll be standing by the side of the man I love.” He turns to leave but Jace stands up too, the chair making an annoying screech, “Hold on, Alec.” 

A flash of relief crosses Robert’s face, as if Jace was going to talk some sense into him, but it quickly changes when he tosses his napkin too, “Alec is one of the best officers and detectives in our precinct, hell probably our borough. If you’re really going to bitch about who he chooses to love, then I’m with him.” 

Izzy stands up and throws her long hair over her shoulder, “I expected better from you two really. And dad, you’re really not the person to talk about upholding our reputation.” She spat out and joined her brothers.

None of them turn around when their parents call for them.

As they walk down the familiar streets of Manhattan, Alec feels like he can breathe easy for the first time in years. 

“Alec, I’m so proud of you.” Izzy whispers, her eyes watery and her lips stretched wide. “I’m so glad you finally started putting yourself first.”

He gives her a little bump to her shoulder and leans over to kiss her temple, “Thanks, Iz. I just thought it was finally time.”

Jace grins and gives him a pat on the back, “I think so too. And depending on how you answer this next question, I’ll let you skate for that little bomb you dropped back there. What are you going to do now?”

Alec beams at the question, shoving his hands into his pockets, “Now? Now I’m going to ask Magnus out.”

*

Since Tuesday’s were their appointment days, Alec decided it was best not to ask him out then, instead only telling him that he had been able to come out to his parents.

_ “Alexander, that’s wonderful! You should be proud of yourself, I know I am.” _

_ “I just wish they took it better is all.” _

_ “That’s fair. But don’t underestimate a parent’s love. Maybe they just need some time to come to terms with things… Would you take it back if you could?” _

_ “Not in a heartbeat.” _

Come his next Thursday-Afternoon-Nap, Alec was determined to ask Magnus out, partners and his inability to speak be damned. When he came in, Magnus was already sitting on the couch, scribbling something on his notepad.

“Darling, is it noon already? My apologies, I got caught up in a case.” Alec just chuckled and hung up his blazer. He makes his way around the couch and instead of waiting for Magnus to get up, he lays his long legs in his lap. 

Magnus looks surprised for a moment but swiftly regains his composure, draping his arms over his legs and continuing to go through the files. “Should I be concerned with how comfortable we’re getting?”

And for one second Alec is nervous all over again, eyes glaring at his own lap, worried Magnus may not feel the same way he does. “I like it.” He whispers in a little voice, telling himself  _ this is it.  _

Before Magnus has the time to react to that, Alec is sputtering again, adjusting himself on the couch and clearing his throat. “So I was hoping to ask you for some advice.”

At that Magnus puts the notebook down, ready to give Alec his full attention, “I’m all yours.” He smiles and Alec feels his heart in his throat.

Alec fiddles with the spot between his thumb and his pointer finger, not able to look at the other man directly. “I like this guy, and I want to ask him out but I don’t know how.”

The words hang in the air for a second, Magnus feeling his heart tighten up but trying desperately not to let it show on his face. He knows Alec coming out to his parents was a huge step for him, and the fact he was  _ going to ask someone out? _ There was no way Magnus was going to stand in the way. 

“Alec, that’s- I’m so happy for you. He’s a lucky man.” He clears his throat and tries to avert his eyes, “Start simple maybe, plan something you know he’s into, that’s always thoughtful.”

There’s another pause between the two of them, Alec unsure of himself and Magnus trying to convince himself it was for the best anyways. “Well, what do you like? Any ideas?” He blurted out, hoping he was giving himself away just yet.

Magnus hums and thinks it over before eventually mentioning the botanical gardens, one of the new historical exhibits, and a few rooftop bars. “They’re easy and fun enough with just the right amount of intimacy to learn about each other.”

The gracious look he gives is so sincere to Alec, he thinks that maybe Magnus is okay with the date being with someone other than him, and for a moment is terrified that the man didn’t actually feel the same way about him or would even give him the time of day. He shakes his head pushing the thought out and decides to just be honest, “Magnus, the past month our sessions have been about me never feeling like I deserve anything or taking the chances in front of me. You showed me that I’m not a shitty person if I choose happiness, so if you’re free next Friday I’d love to take you to the botanical gardens and the new exhibit.”

_ There, he did it, it’s out there and he can’t take it back. _

Both of them are staring wide-eyed at each other, electricity in the air as if the whole month they’ve been dancing around each other has been for  _ this moment _ . Magnus for the first time is actually speechless, mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. He thinks the coffee mug handle is going to break from how hard his grip is, and his mouth is dry but he nods hurriedly, afraid the detective might take his silence as a denial, “I’d be honored, Alexander. Pick me up at five?”

With that agreed, Alec settled into the couch and couldn't help the little smile that graced his face as he napped. And that day Alec left Magnus’ office with a new phone number and better than he ever had before.

*

The next week they finally got a lead in the Morgenstern case. Aldertree had given them a heads up that the Morgensterns were expecting another shipment at the docks again, meaning Lydia and Alec were planning another stakeout.

Unlike Jace who’s guilty pleasure was greasy snacks, Lydia’s was Twizzlers, wrapping them around her finger and chewing them as she reads through the files and checks the radar. “If no one knows what this Jonathan dude looks like, how do we know what to look for?” 

Alec just shrugs and runs a hand through his messy hair, “No clue, I think we just need to get shots of as many people as possible, we can identify them later.” He mumbles, staring at the only photo anyone had taken of Jonathan “The Ghost” Morgenstern, it was blurry and he was in a massive crowd, but Alec still somehow got chills over it. 

There’s a second between them before Lydia breaks it, “So tell me about you and Magnus?” She asked with a smirk but not looking up at him.

The second she said his name he couldn’t help but let out a little laugh, before rolling his eyes when the action pulled a laugh out of her. “You’re so smitten holy shit. I’m guessing this means you finally asked him out?”

He punches her shoulder lightly but nods, “Yeah, yeah I did. Friday at five.”

Poor Lydia has been Alec’s go-to advisor regarding everything Magnus, from getting as many details as he could about what she knew about his life, to not so subtly asking that they go to him with any case they could. She never minded indulging him, glad to know that someone she considered a good friend met someone as loyal and kind as Alec. 

“I’m happy for you. Don’t fuck it up.” 

He wants to respond that he won’t, he wants to tell Lydia he’s gonna do his damn best to make Magnus not regret taking a chance on him, but so many things happen at once. He gets a call from Garroway, and at first he thinks it’s just him checking up on their stakeout, but then Garroway is telling him he needs to get down to the emergency room because Jace has been shot-

He doesn’t hear anything after that, throwing the phone to Lydia and peeling out of the street. The whole time Lydia is relaying what Garroway has told her- what they know, and while it isn’t much, one thing is for sure, it wasn’t an accident.

His heart is pounding as he swerves in and out of traffic, his breath picking up as he has flashbacks to last year when he got the same call about Lillith’s attack. Lydia herself is being jostled in the front seat from his sharp turns but she never tells him off, simply holding on for the ride.

As they approach the hospital he doesn’t bother waiting for Lydia, barging into the waiting room and finding Garroway along with Clary and Lewis huddled into the corner.

“How is he? What the hell happened?” He demanded, still panting as he was trying to get his blood pressure down.

“He was on patrol with Underhill, apparently Jace ran inside a shop to grab them some coffee and on his way out someone shot him point-blank. Underhill couldn’t catch the guy but he’s the reason Jace probably even made it this far. And before you ask, we’re already gathering security footage from as many places as we can.” Garroway explains staying calm and collected. “He’s in surgery right now and the doctors are hopeful but we have been told to prepare for the worst. You should call your parents, son.” Garroway grips his shoulder hard, and it’s then he realizes he’s shaking, and barely acknowledges everything he’s said.

He collapses into a chair and despite his heavy breathing he does as told, calling his parents and telling them what’s going on.

_ “Yes mother, I’ll deal with insurance and the paperwork tomorrow… Well because he’s still in surgery right now… Yes, I’ll make sure his meds get sent through the right pharmacy…” _

He’s barely off the phone with them when he sees Izzy come running out from behind the hospital doors.

“Alec.” She breathes out and rushes into his arms, holding onto him tight, and Alec would be lying if he said he didn’t need the reassurance that she was okay too. He feels her small frame shaking and tears soaking his shirt, and he tries his best to calm her down. 

“He’s going to be okay Iz, you know he will, his stubborn ass would never leave like this.” He whispers to her, trying so hard to believe the words himself.

They hold each other for a few seconds before Izzy breaks away and quickly pulls Clary in her arms. It’s then Alec realizes the redhead looks like a wreck, mascara running down her cheeks and her hair wild. He gives the two girls a second before bringing both of them in his arms, and while he’s not a touchy person, the only other time he’s done this is when they almost lost Jace the first time. They’re talking about his recovery plans when they hear a familiar, much-needed voice called out in the high-tensioned room, “Where is he?” 

The three huddled heads turned to look at Magnus who’s just arrived, looking like he broke a dozen traffic laws to get there. Magnus doesn’t wait for someone to answer, running over to them and pulling Clary in his arms, “Oh biscuit…” He watches Clary taint Magnus’ white shirt with more of her mascara as he rubs her back in comfort. He watches him give the same treatment to Izzy before he turns to him, and Alec should really be concerned with how fast he had found comfort in his eyes. Magnus doesn’t even have to say anything before he’s got an arm full of Alec. 

Alec turns and tucks his face in his neck, not even caring about the blatant show of affection he was giving in front of his coworkers and sister.

With Magnus in his arms it feels like all his endorphins were crashing down, and he’s so used to being the rock for his family, taking care of the logistics and being the level-headed one. But with Magnus, it feels like he can finally drop his shoulders and indulge in the comforts he needed. He feels Magnus rubbing his back in small circles as he struggles to breathe a little, he knows he’s on the verge of a panic attack, but he  _ can’t, _ not with all these people here and not in front of Magnus.   


The other man seemed to know what was going on, and he pulled away just the slightest bit so he could look at him. “Oh, sweetheart…” He looks around and most everyone had turned away to give them some space, but decides it still wasn’t enough and he ushers them over to a more secluded corner.

Normally Alec would never let himself take a moment to process things, much less in front of other people, but he can’t find it in himself to deny what he needs right now. He lets Magnus lead him and once they’re away from any eyes he feels himself let out a shaky gasp, holding onto his hands tightly as more silent tears fall. “I should’ve been there- I should’ve been with him.” He whispers, feeling the guilt crashing down onto him.

“Alexander, it is  _ not _ your fault do you understand me? No one could have known this was going to happen, there was nothing you could do to stop it.” His voice is soft but firm, leaving no room for arguments. He hated seeing his normally hard-headed detective in such a vulnerable position but knew the only thing he could do was be there for him.

“Listen to me darling, Underhill was even there with him and he did all he could. You did not pull the trigger or put a target on him,  _ this is not your fault.  _ Say it with me, Alexander.”

He knew what Magnus was saying was rational, he knew he literally could not have done anything to prevent this from happening, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still feel terrible. “I- It’s not my fault.” He mumbled barely above a whisper. Magnus rewards him with a little squeeze to his hands and goes to grab a cup of water for him.

When he comes back he feels his heart starting to steady again, and with Magnus’ order to finish the cup, he was able to finally calm his breathing. “Thank you, Magnus. I really needed that.” 

“Anytime, darling. Am I safe to assume that you and your sister will be here for a while?”

He nods, knowing that neither him, Izzy, nor Clary would want to leave his bedside until they were sure he was going to be okay.

“Alright then, how about I go back to mine and get you all some more comfortable clothes, hmm? I can’t imagine you’d want to spend the night in the hospital, in that.”

“I couldn’t ask-”

“I’m offering. Plus, Jace means a great deal to me too. It’s the least I could do.”

Alec doesn’t know what he did in his life to deserve someone as amazing and kind as Magnus, but now that he had him he was never going to let him go. The man truly was too kind for his own good. “Then I’d really appreciate it.” 

Magnus gives him another squeeze and nods, promising he’ll be back as soon as possible. He watches as the man relays the message to Garroway, Izzy, and Clary before turning and flashing another smile before taking off. 

He takes a few more breaths before rejoining the group, making small talk with Izzy about her cases, doing anything and everything to keep his mind from thinking of the worse. 

By the time Magnus came back, some of the other officers had left, needing to get back on patrol and Alec didn’t blame them, him being here feeling so helpless was taking such a toll on him. He watches as Magnus distributes to the threesome soft t-shirts, with leggings for the girls and a pair of sweatpants for Alec. They head to the bathroom and change quickly, and when he comes back out Magnus gives him a not-so-subtle once over, “I’ll admit darling, this isn’t what I was thinking of for the first time I’d see you in my clothes.”

The comment makes him blush a little and give a small grin, it wasn’t the time to flirt or be cheeky but even he can’t resist a, “Me either.” The comment gets him a scandalous look from Magnus but before either can say anything the girls come out of the bathroom.

As they walk back he stays behind a bit, letting them get into a conversation about how soft the leggings were. And maybe it was selfish thinking of Magnus at a time like this, but he can’t help but feel butterflies with how well Magnus was getting along with his sisters. He considered family to be one of the most important things in his life, so having the man he was  _ courting _ already fitting in with them meant the world to him. 

When they return they spread out among the chairs again, everyone having their own conversation while Alec and Lydia go over the Morgenstern case, both needing the distraction. They theorize a bit and compare all the notes they have when Alec realizes they might still be missing a big chunk of the puzzle.

“The feebs said that Jonathan and his father are having a falling out, right? So why is he still being his personal errand boy for him? I mean you would think that if he wanted to take over he wouldn’t be helping his father continue, right?”

He looks over and sees Lydia barely paying attention to him, instead re-reading the autopsy notes from their M.E. “Sorry I’m not listening— here look at this.” She hands all five sheets over, “All the girls had their hymens intact…” She mumbled, “All of them, despite being held captive for a week, were virgins. How many pimps do you know that keep their girls virgin longer than a few days?”

It was a sad truth but it was true, most pimps liked to break in their girls within the first few days if not hours. Sure virgins sold for more, but even then intel reported Valentine only brands them once they’ve been broken in, so Lydia’s point was actually substantial.

“So Jonathan is killing them but not using them? I can’t see why Valentine would want him to do that… Unless he’s not?” 

Alec turns to Lydia with a fire in his eyes, “Intel says they’re falling out, right, but what if Jonathan isn’t killing these girls because his father asked him to, he’s doing it because he’s threatening him?”

Lydia listens intently and writes down notes here and there, and pulls out a few more papers, “Right, and that’s why they’re all virgins, Valentine may have orchestrated their kidnappings but didn’t get to use them before Jonathan must have took off with them somewhere.”

“And he’s killing them and leaving them as a threat to his father, that’s why they were branded but not used… But if he’s keeping them somewhere that means there has to be a paper trail somewhere right?”

“He must be using an alias, there’s no property under that name anyone was able to find.” She mumbles thumbing through more papers. She’s about to speak again when the doors open up and a doctor comes out calling for ‘The Lightwoods.’

Alec is immediately on his feet, hurrying over with Izzy, Magnus, and Clary in tow. 

“He’s going to be alright.” The doctor starts and Alec can feel the tension and anxiety spill from him.

“The bullet nicked a major artery, it was touch and go for a while but he is expected to make a full recovery. We’ll be keeping him for the rest of the week for observation and since he hit his head pretty hard he’ll be out of it for a few days and there’s no telling how bad that damage will be. He’s still out of it so you’re welcome to see him but only in small groups.” He smiles and starts to walk them back.

Alec looks back and Garroway gives them the go-ahead and he and the other three are quick to follow. 

When they get to his room Alec feels a pang go through his chest at the sight of his little brother hooked up to wires and machines, and again feels the guilt come crashing down on him. He leans over to his body and pushes aside a tuft of his hair gently, scared he’d break him further. He watches as Izzy and Clary come over, each reaching out to touch some part of him as if everyone was scared he’d disappear before their eyes.

He sees the scar of the surgery peeking out from under his hospital gown and feels a rush of anger run through him, he was going to find out how and why someone targeted his baby brother and make sure they pay.

*

Things were a whirlwind after that. 

Izzy, Clary, and himself had figured out a rotation schedule, making sure someone was always by Jace’s bedside so he wouldn’t be alone when he woke up. So badly had Alec wanted to leave and go search for the son of a bitch that did this, but first, he needed to be sure Jace would be okay.

His parents had stopped in for a moment, fresh off the plane from attending a weekend event in Los Angeles, and came to see their golden boy right away. He had managed to skip out on their arrival, letting Izzy handle them under the guise he was hunting down the shooter. According to Izzy, they stayed for a while before heading back to the Hamptons, with a promise to be back down once Jace was back on his feet.

At work, Garroway was still trying to get a hold of the security footage but was facing some red tape and it was pissing both of them off. He had thrown himself into his other cases when he wasn’t on rotation and even stopped in to talk to Magnus a few times.

Being able to talk to Magnus about everything was probably the only thing keeping him sane, and he told the man as such with his legs draped in his lap. It was their new normal and Magnus seemed to not mind one bit, happy to simply work around him. 

_ “I understand you’re upset and angry, but this is a prime example of everything we have been working on darling. You couldn’t control whether or not Jace got hurt and right now you can’t control how fast he heals. I know you don’t like it but the truth is it’s out of your hands.” _

And Alec had gotten a little upset at that but ultimately surrendered, knowing Magnus was right and that itself earned him the softest cheek kiss he had ever received. He hadn’t expected it either, but after their session was done and Alec was as calm as possible, he started slipping on his blazer, thanking Magnus and apologizing about having to postpone their date.

Magnus had simply let out a small laugh, “ _ Alexander, your brother is fighting for his life. You don’t have to apologize for our date not being at the top of your priorities.” _

_ “Well, still, I don’t want you to think I forgot, I didn’t. And thank you so much for talking me through today, I guess not being in control isn’t as scary as I thought it was.” _

His admission made Magnus look up at him with so much adoration, cupping his neck and letting his thumb brush his cheek gently, “ _ I’m so proud of you.” _

And if it wasn’t those words that had him blushing red, it was the soft cheek kiss that accompanied it, leaving him a stuttering mess as he made his exit.

They were circulating the news that Jace did in fact die during surgery, hoping that it would protect him in case the shooter came back to finish the job. The list of people that knew Jace made it out alive wasn’t long, as Garroway wanted to be sure that no moles in the precinct got wind.

It was Alec’s turn on rotation when Jace finally woke up in the middle of the night, throat dry and eyes squinting in the bright lights. Alec hurried over to grab a glass of water for him, tilting it along with his head.

Jace gave a few coughs, before batting Alec away, he tried to speak but his lungs hurt and he flailed a little, causing Alec to call for a nurse. A few of them rush in, pushing buttons and doing their best to get settled as his heart monitor beeps rapidly.

Alec watches as Jace’s body fights against them and he catches Alec’s eye at the last second before he’s subdued once more, gasping out a single word to him, a word that makes his blood run cold and his jaw clench;

_ Verlac. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand thats 3! I'm so excited to finally see our boys getting together!!!
> 
> Comment and kudos if you like? 
> 
> Thank you for reading my loves and I will see you in a few weeks!
> 
> Em


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, took a little break there but now we're back!!
> 
> Just two chapters left after this so I wanted to put some time between the updates (:
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's kept up with this and given me so much love and support along the way <3
> 
> As always a big hug to Kim and Charlie who I can always count on to have my back and support me.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Em

Alec was angry in a way he hadn’t been in ages.

He stormed out of the hospital with fire running through his veins, hands clasping and unclasping desperate to punch the nearest wall. He called Izzy and told her to take his place at Jace’s bedside while he decided what to do next and how to handle the betrayal of one of their own. He probably shouldn’t be driving with his emotions flying everywhere but he doesn’t really care at this point.

His grip on the steering wheel is tight and the way he weaves in and out of traffic is a little dangerous, but all he wants to do is find Sebastian at the precinct and wrangle his neck.

When he arrives he storms in, eyes blurred with rage as he looks around and irritated when he can’t find his target. He’s just about to check the breakroom when Garroway comes out, the man just as tense as he is and his jaw clenched.

“Lightwood, you need to see this.”   


Alec knows he’s still seething but he does his best to calm down as he follows the man back into his office where he and Lewis are crowded behind a computer screen. Apparently, in his three-day absence, they were finally able to get their hands on the security footage and were combing through it when they had stumbled upon something.

Garroway turns the screen around and Alec freezes. 

There on the screen is a paused shot of the shooter, his arm steady and aligned with Jace’s body, he’s wearing a mask, a professional one too not like something out of a bad crime show. His posture was perfect, not a muscle out of place, it was obvious whoever it was was not only at ease but  _ confident  _ in his abilities. As he looks closer he can just make out a bright red circle tattoo peeking from under his shirt and when he finally drags his gaze to his face he feels his heart stop for the second time this week,  _ he would know those cold eyes anywhere. _

“Jace said it was Verlac.” He mumbled just barely above a whisper, his eyebrows stitched together in concentration as he felt some of the last few puzzle pieces clicking together. “Jace said it was Verlac.” He repeats again and hurried out to grab the file on his desk with the photo they were given.

“Son, what are you going on about?” Garroway asks when he returns, photo in hand, and Lydia trailing behind him.

“Jace woke up for a moment at the hospital, he struggled to breathe a little but he said, ‘ _ Verlac.’  _ I thought he was telling me that Sebastian is the one that shot him, and I was so angry that I never stopped to think  _ why _ he would, he’s supposed to be a double agent for Valentine but  _ this _ photo says otherwise.” He holds the photo he got from the FBI next to the computer screen.

“This is supposedly the only photo anyone has been able to get of Jonathan Morgenstern.” He whispers and lets the photo speak for itself.

The room seems to have held their breath as they all match the two men on the screen. There were a few differences between them, Jonathan seemed to have platinum blonde hair while their Sebastian (as they knew) had jet black and was a few inches longer. They were of the same height and build as well, but what really drove the point home was the piercing eyes that burned with determination.

“You’re saying our Sebastian Verlac is actually Jonathan Morgenstern,” Lydia whispers.

Alec can’t do anything but swallow around the lump in his throat, “I think so yeah, it would make sense, why his kills are so clean, why he’s never been caught.”

“But why would Verlac try to kill Jace? I mean Alec and Lydia are the assigned detectives on the case?” Lewis points out, and Alec realizes that’s a really good question.

“Maybe they knew he was related to Alec and tried to hurt him that way?” 

The words make Alec want to puke.

It’s his fault Jace was attacked, it’s his fault he was targeted,  _ Magnus was wrong. _

“Regardless of who got shot, this means that you and Lydia aren’t safe, I’m pulling you off the streets and onto desk duty until we’re sure you two aren’t targets.” Garroway orders, dragging Alec out of the beginning of his panic attack.

“Cap you can’t do that! My brother is in the hospital because of this son of a bitch, I need to be out there bringing him down.”

“I understand that Lightwood, but I’m not jeopardizing two of my best detectives especially when who they’re up against is The Morgenstern Family. You’re benched, end of discussion.”

Alec felt his anger tick up again, his jaw locked and glaring at him, “with all due respect, that’s bullshit, Sebastian doesn’t know we know, we can use that to our advantage and keep the upper hand.” He swears he doesn’t even realize his voice is raising.

“Calm down, Lightwood, you’re lucky you’re even getting desk duty, keep going and I will suspend you for insubordination.”

Before he can retort he hears the door opening, “Gentlemen, the entire precinct can hear your screaming match.” Magnus says calmly and still poised.

Garroway tenses at that but lowers his voice, “Actually Magnus maybe you can be of service, Lightwood here is trying to disobey a direct order, one that will save his ass.”

Alec feels his fists clasping and unclasping again, and he shakes his head, “He’s my brother.”

Magnus flicks his eyes to everyone around the room, Lydia looks uncomfortable while Lewis seems to be focused on the computer monitor and Alec looks like a caged bear ready to take off on a rampage. He knows he’s seen a lot of sides to him, but this one was new.

“Alexander, I find myself agreeing with Lucian here, I know you’re upset but if sitting out for a bit saves your life-”

“I’m past upset, I’m  _ pissed _ , my brother is fighting for his life and you want me to sit and hide? I don’t want you to fix me, I want to do my job so you know what? You and everyone else can just  _ back off!”  _ He yells, and storms out through the open door. He ignores the looks he gets from the rest of the precinct, not caring that everyone is watching him basically have a tantrum.

He stalks into the locker rooms, slamming the door and pressing his forehead against the cold metal of the lockers. He slinks down a little and tries to calm his breathing as he thinks over what just happened. Immediately he feels dread in the pit of his stomach, regretting the way he not only spoke to his boss but to  _ Magnus. _

He knows the man has only ever tried to help him without any ulterior motives, and he knows he didn’t actually mean any of what he said but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel awful about what happened.

Just when his breath started getting calm he heard the locker room door open, a waft of sandalwood accompanying it. “Alec.”

He winces at how sharp and wrong his shortened name sounded from Magnus’ lips. He turns slowly to the man but is not able to look up yet.

“Alec, eyes up.”

He drags his gaze from his lap to meet Magnus’ eyes, and he feels nothing but guilt when he sees the disappointment buried in them. He’s itching to do whatever he can to make that look disappear. 

“I’m all for you needing to take a time out, but no one wants to come in here whilst you’re sulking, so let’s move this to my office, hm?”

He’s spent almost a month and a half with this man but he doesn’t think he’s ever heard Magnus’ voice as cold and distant as it was now. He can do nothing but nod his head, standing up and following him out. He makes no eye contact with anyone else in the precinct, instead focusing on his shoes across the shiny floor.

When they finally make it into Magnus’ office, he watches as Magnus closes the door behind them quietly and flicks the switch on for the lamp outside. “Take a seat wherever I was in the middle of a report when they called for me so you’ve got about fifteen more minutes to get your thoughts in order.” Magnus doesn’t look up at him once when he talks and Alec supposes he deserves that.

He tucks himself onto the bench near the window, feeling like he doesn’t deserve the comforts of the big blue couch yet. He’s quiet for the whole fifteen minutes while he listens to Magnus typing away on his computer and can’t help but think that this scene reminded him of when he used to be punished by his parents when he was younger.

Almost fifteen minutes on the dot (Alec had been watching the clock) Magnus stood up, coming over and crossing his arms in front of Alec. His head was titled just the slightest bit as he began to speak. “You wanna tell me what the hell just happened back there?”

“I-I’m sorry Magnus I swear I didn’t mean any of what I said to you, it was way out of line, I was just so angry and it felt like no one was listening to me.”

The older man listens intently, nodding along and letting him tell his side. “Thank you, you’re forgiven. Now I want to apologize for making you feel like we were ganging up on you or you felt that you couldn’t explain your side, that was unfair of me, I’ll try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

And Alec really isn’t surprised that Magnus is great at apologies too. Add it onto the list of reasons why he is crushing on him.

“I think it’s also in your best interest that you apologize to Luke, Lydia and Simon, you threw a tantrum in there and it was in poor taste, no one deserved to be spoken to like that.”

He swallows hard and nods, knowing the man was right and before he can say anything more, Magnus holds a hand out for him and he readily takes it, happy to follow anywhere he takes him. He pulls him around to the big blue couch, and takes a seat, pulling Alec onto it with him. 

Unlike their Thursday-Afternoon-Naps when Alec draped his noodle legs over Magnus’ lap, the elder had arranged them so that Alec’s head instead was on his lap, letting Magnus intertwine a hand in his hair.

At the gentle petting and pulling he felt his tension and anger spill out of him, deflating and submitting to Magnus’ touches. “There you go darling, is this okay?”

He rubbed his cheek up against the soft pants as he nodded, “More than, thank you, I don’t deserve this after the way I spoke to you.”

“You’re forgiven sweetheart, I only ask that you take this lesson for the future. Now that you’ve calmed down some I think it’s time we talk about everything, no? You will have to fill in some of the blanks for me though, as I only caught the tail end of the conversation.” 

With that, Alec told him everything, not even for a second thinking that Magnus was someone that couldn’t be trusted. He spoke about what they had discovered, what they were still confused about, and what he’d like to do going forward.

As he’s speaking Magnus listens intently, asking a few questions here and there and commenting when he could. “I still fail to see why they would target Jace though? He wasn’t officially involved so how did they know?” 

“Lewis asked the same thing, that piece still doesn’t sit right with me.” He frowns, he’s concentrating on fiddling with a thread from Magnus’ pants when Magnus’ phone goes off, a very rare occurrence since Alec knew for a fact he kept his phone on silent barring any emergencies.

Magnus apologizes and picks it up, and Alec barely tries to hide his eavesdropping.

“Dot? Is everything alright?... No dear that’s next week, no worries, okay then I’ll call you later.”

At that name Alec can’t help but tense up, knowing that while they haven’t had their first date yet he would have thought Magnus wasn’t still seeing his partners. 

When the boy in his lap tensed up, Magnus had an inkling of what it could be about right away. With his ear pressed to the phone he continued to play with the soft strands of hair, hoping it’ll keep the boy calm. As soon as Dot hangs up he puts the phone away and chuckles softly. “Darling, you’re not subtle.”

It brings a grumble out of Alec and he smiles as the boy in his lap turns so he buries his face in his pants, avoiding any eye contact. Magnus gives him his time, waiting for him to ask his question.

“Are you still seeing them?” He whispers shyly a little scared of what he might say.

“No, darling. We all ended things the night after you asked me out. They all understood and were happy for us, there’s no bad blood but we are all still friends, does that bother you?” And for the second time since he’s known him, Alec hears Magnus sound unsure.

He doesn’t answer right away, taking a second to think it through, letting his nose nuzzle Magnus’ tummy. They should probably talk more about it but he just whispers, “I’m alright with it. I trust you.”

The actions and words make Magnus’ heart flutter, his hands reach down to intertwine with Alec’s hand. He watches the boy blush at the movement and feels one of his thumbs fiddling with the ring on his pointer finger.

For a moment, the two forget about everything, about the five dead girls, about Jace in the hospital, about the double agent that was sitting under their noses the whole time and take a second to just be together. They’ve only known each for a month and a half but neither can explain the immense attraction towards the other but neither want to fight it.

“I know everything’s hitting the fan right now, but I’d really love to go on that date with you.” Alec mumbles, face still buried in his torso. “Hopefully Luke will let me stay on desk duty versus a suspension, but that does mean my hours will be normal for a bit. Are you free tonight?”

The boy was too adorable, he thought. “Yes Alexander, I would love to go on a date with you tonight. I’m not sure it’s too safe to have you out in public yet though, so how about you come over to mine and I can cook you something, how does that sound?” He offers.

And  _ fuck _ doesn’t that sound nice, he’s nodding in agreement, feeling excited at the prospect, “Y-yeah that would be perfect. I’ll be over at seven?” 

“It’s a date.’ Magnus grins, “Do you think you’re ready to get back out there?”

Just like that Alec is reminded of the tantrum he threw not thirty minutes ago and the many apologies he owes. “I think so, I’ll make sure to talk to everyone. Again, Magnus, I’m really sorry, I never should have spoken to you like that, I promise it won't happen again.” 

“Let’s make sure it doesn’t, would you like me to accompany you to Luke’s?”

“No, I'm a big boy, I can do it. I’ll uh- I’ll see you tonight then?” He thinks it's the first time he’s smiled since he found out about Jace.

“Tonight, then.”

When he walks back into Garroway’s office, the man accepts his apology without much bother, telling him if he ever went against his orders he’d pay for it and that he was still resigned to desk duty. Alec pursed his lips but agreed, knowing he could spend the time re-going over all the case files they had got from both the FBI and the Organized Crime Unit. 

Lydia herself was frustrated about getting benched but finally accepted her fate and was going through all the witness statements. Alec gives her a little pat as he hears her talking to herself and writing down notes. He’s gotten back into concentration when Lydia lets out a groan, “Guess who was one of the witnesses to a kidnapping a few years back?”

She doesn’t give him a chance to guess when she goes looking for her phone. “Aldertree. That little snake is everywhere… Do you think Garroway will let us talk to him if I can convince him to come in?”

He shrugs and nods over to his office, “We can ask, it’s not like we’d be leaving the station anyways.”

So with that, they both head over to his office and stumble a little when they see Starkweather sitting in the chair across from Garroway.

“Lightwood, and you must be Branwell.” He said politely as they all shook hands, “I was just checking on how the investigation was going, Luke says an officer was killed recently?”

Alec cleared his throat and nodded, his shoulder tensing defensively, “Yeah, my brother. He was a good man.”

Starkweather gave him a small sad smile, “I’m sorry for your loss, we all want nothing more than Valentine’s head on a plate.” 

“Thank you. Um, we just wanted to ask Cap here if we could set up a meeting with a C.I.” 

Garroway raised an eyebrow, “You do both know you’re on desk duty right? Who’s the C.I.? Does it have to do with the Morgenstern case?”

Alec flicks his eyes to Starkweather but before he could answer Lydia tells them they’re looking for Aldertree, a name Garroway had seen on the forms enough times to permit to bring Aldertree to the station. They thank him and shake Starkweather’s hands before hastily making their exit to fill out the paperwork. 

When they reach out to Aldertree he agrees to come by the station tomorrow but asks that he come in a different entrance. Once everything is set and the paperwork is submitted, Alec and Lydia try to comb through the rest of the files. 

It’s barely quitting time when Alec stands up, stretching his body and letting all the bones and joints pop. “I don’t think we’re going to get any further so I’m calling it a night.”

The words make Lydia snap her head up and smirk, “Oh? Is Detective Lightwood finally leaving on time for once? Is there a special someone waiting for you?”

He gives a little laugh and whacks her shoulder, “Night, Branwell.”

*

His hands are nervous when he finally makes it to Magnus’ house. On his way home from work he had stopped by and picked up a bottle of wine and flowers spending way too long deciding on each one. He hurried home to shower, and once done he stood in his closet with a towel wrapped around his waist, one ear pressed to his phone as he asked Izzy for fashion advice. 

After her initial teasing of his nervousness and congratulating him for finally picking up his balls, she advised on something blue and tight. 

“ _ Trust me, big bro, he won’t be able to resist.” _

With that, Alec had made his way down to Magnus’ place, surprisingly not too far from the station. He pushes the little doorbell and waits, his feet tapping restlessly against the pavement before Magnus’ voice comes over the intercom.

“Bane!”

“Magnus? It’s Alec.” He hated how nervous he sounded.

“Alexander! Come on up darling.” 

Magnus’ loft is everything he expected it to be, in the sense he knew to expect nothing traditional. Like his office, the colors of the room and the furniture were vibrant, yet all still somehow came collectively together. His shelves were lined with more paraphernalia of his many travels, and photos of the same nature. He had works of art of all different mediums spread out, including a bust of Michaelangelo he nearly bumps into while attempting to take off his shoes. 

He’s stood in the living room as he continues to take in the marvel that is Magnus’ loft as the other man pitters about, getting a vase for the flowers and thanking him for the wine. He looks over to the balcony and finds himself in awe, the french doors are wide open, and fairy lights are hanging, illuminating the set up that faces that New York skyline. 

Without realizing it he makes his way out, hands curling against the cement ledge and eyes flick down to the city he swore to protect. Up here he feels a little breathless, the reality of his night crashing down on him. There’s the start of a familial mob war on the horizon, Jace is recovering but not without complications, and instead of being at the office and trying to solve the crime, he’s out on a date

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Magnus’ voice interrupts his intrusive thoughts, “It’s the main reason I bought this unit.” He hands him over a glass of the wine Alec had just brought over. He gives their glasses a little tap and takes a sip before clearing his throat, “Penny for your thoughts, Alexander?”

Alec just stares into the glass of red, organizing his thoughts, he’s grateful Magnus is patient enough to give him the time to do so. “There’s just a lot going on is all, I feel like I should be out there.” He motions over the ledge and tries to ignore the flash of hurt across Magnus’ face and he quickly shakes his head, “But I like being here. And I feel guilty about that. I can’t control what's going on and it drives me crazy, but I like knowing I don’t have to face it alone. So thank you, for um, for standing by me.”

He watches as Magnus’ shoulder drop the slightest bit from tensing at the earlier mention and a small smile dons his face, “It’s an honor to stand by a man who’s trying to change the world, no thanks necessary Alexander, I am glad you are coming to terms with being okay to put yourself first.”

He feels his hand intertwines in his, feeling the warmth from the other man wrapping around his body and keeping him grounded. He watches as Magnus pulls his hand up to his mouth and presses a gentle kiss against his knuckles, the blush on his cheeks almost immediately.

“As much as I love standing here looking at our city, I am quite famished, so why don’t you take a seat and I’ll bring dinner out. I hope you like pork.”

Dinner turns out to be an amazing event, Magnus had cooked him a traditional meal from his homeland of Indonesia, prompting a few stories of his childhood that he does remember. Alec notices he doesn’t talk too much about his parents so much about his adventures and explorations, but he doesn’t want to push it for their first date. 

Their conversation flows easily, jumping from topic to topic from the various foods they’ve eaten to interests of mythology, various sciences and jokingly answering the philosophical questions of life. 

By the end of the night, Alec is warm in ways he had never been before. When he first met Magnus he fully expected the butterflies to settle down eventually, but sitting here with him now he still feels the flutter of their wings in his core and swears they’re touching his heart too. He finds himself laughing and enjoying himself in a way he hadn’t in a long time. 

There’s still a little nagging voice in his head about the partner situation, but he accepts that Jace is right, if it was an issue for Magnus, he figures the man would bring it up or not have agreed in the first place. He also tells himself this was just their first date and he shouldn't send himself into a frenzy overthinking everything.

When they finish dinner he insists on helping him clean up, which of course turns into an impromptu bubble fight, soaking his shirt he took far too long to pick out but he doesn’t think he gives two shits.

There’s a moment between the two of them, still laughing and catching their breath surrounded by puddles of water and a sinkful of dishes still not taken care of where they’re huddled into each other, their foreheads inches away.

They flick their eyes to each other’s lips, and Alec can feel the ghost of his breath across his. He thinks about the rule of no kissing on the first date, but whoever made that rule clearly never met Magnus Bane. Just as he thinks he can’t take it anymore, they both lean forward, pressing their lips against each other, breaking the tension that had been building for over a month.

He feels his hands slip down to Magnus’ waist, pulling him close as Magnus’ hands circled around his neck and played with the hair at the base. He truly thinks he short-circuited a bit and doesn’t come back online until they’re pulling away for breath. 

Pulling away he sees Magnus’ lips are still shiny, and the two are panting a little, hearts racing and echoing in their ears. Before he even knows what he’s doing he’s picking Magnus up by the waist and settling him on the kitchen counter behind him, not taking any time back to attacking his lips. 

He relishes in the noise of surprise Magnus makes, but his hands go back to his place on his hair as his own slip under the silk button-down draping the older man’s torso. He splays his hands against the hard outline of his abs, whining a little at the thought of being able to have that on top of him.

Their kiss turns a little messy, teeth clashing as they nip at each other's lips, tongues breaching and breaking any boundary they had left.

“Look at you Alexander, who knew you were such a passionate kisser.” Magnus chuckles when he pulls away. “I think it’s fair to say you took my breath away.”

Despite it being completely cheesy, it makes Alec blush a little, knowing that he had such a strong effect on Magnus as Magnus did on him. He hides his face in Magnus’ neck, finding comfort in the warmth and smell of sandalwood. 

“You’re adorable sweetheart, I have to say though as much as I am enjoying this, I am a gentleman, and I’m afraid we shouldn’t do anything more tonight.” Alec would’ve grumbled a little but felt Magnus lock his ankles behind his back and pull him that much closer.

“Can’t believe you’re going to get me all bothered then just leave me like this.” He brought his eyes up to attempt to glare at him. 

Magnus just rolls his eyes at his antics and slips a hand to the back of his head, sinking his fingers in his hair and pulling down so that Alec’s neck is exposed. It forces a soft gasp from the raven-haired boy and before he can say anything, Magnus kisses a spot just under his jaw before nipping and sucking a mark into him.

Alec has always known his neck was a sensitive place, even if he never had sex with anyone, his exploration in college did help him figure out what he liked and didn’t like. So it’s no surprise to him when he lets out a pathetic moan when Magnus pulls back, licking his newly formed bruise.

“Pretty boy, you make the most beautiful noises, I can’t wait to hear them all one day.”

They press their forwards together and try to calm down, bringing themselves back from the edge, “I might have to call this a night, Alexander.” Magnus whispers.

He really doesn’t want to leave, his whole body is on fire and his heart is racing, begging him to chase the high. With what little willpower he had left, he nods, knowing it was for the best and that he wanted this relationship to be more than a whirlwind romance that burned a little too bright.

The legs interlocked behind his back finally release him, letting him pull away from his newfound comfort and he reluctantly backs up. “I agree, thank you for tonight Magnus, it was perfect.”

At that Magnus slides off the counter, intertwining their hands and takes his time walking Alec to the front door. They whisper promises of another date one that includes that botanical garden and rooftop bar Magnus had mentioned a week ago. With one last kiss, Magnus sends him off, not daring to close the door until he sees Alec disappear down the elevator.

Alec leaves Magnus’ building like he’s walking on air, it’s a little chilly outside but he stills feels the burning imprint of Magnus’ touch on his body, the dull throb of the newly forming bruise on his neck. He might be an officer of the law, but he finally gets why people do drugs; if he felt like this every time he had a dose of Magnus he would be an unapologetic addict.

His high lasts all of three minutes, the time it takes to walk to the nearest subway station when he gets a phone call. When he sees it’s Lydia, he knows his night is about to take a turn and his suspicions have only been confirmed when he hears her frantic voice.

“ _ Aldertree’s body was just found.” _

*

At the station he’s pacing back and forth, waiting desperately to find out what the hell is going on, knowing there was no coincidence that the day before they were to speak to Aldertree about the Morgenstern case he shows up dead, M.O. the same as their five victims. Lydia is there too but she’s on the phone with Aldertree’s friends and family, arranging all the details. 

Most of the officers are gone considering it’s almost the middle of the night, but Lewis and Santiago are both there huddled behind Santiago’s screen. 

“What are you two doing here so late?   


“Raph traded shifts with Maia cause Cap needed me here to clean up the park surveillance footage. He doesn't think Aldertree’s murder was a coincidence either.” He mumbles around a pen cap.

Alec is suddenly reminded of what Magnus said a few weeks back, that Raphael and Simon were dating, and apparently had been for a while. He’s a little confused as to how it works, what with Santiago being prickly cactus and Lewis not having an off button, but opposites attract he supposes. 

Raphael gives him a weird look, “How was your date with Magnus?”

“He told you?”

The Hispanic man just snorts a little, “He told me you two were having one I just didn’t know when, but I’m guessing you didn’t get that bruise on your neck from falling.”

His eyes widened in memory that Magnus had left him with a parting gift, and his hand quickly shot up to cover the love bite. He feels his cheeks blushing and Lewis laughs, “I forgot how possessive Magnus can get. Anyways I’m looking at all the intel you gave me and I was wondering who gave you the photo of Jonathan in the street.”

Alec comes around to the monitor, one hand still covering his neck, and looks at the blurry grainy photo, “Uh, Agents Rey and Starkweather.” 

“Well it’s like they literally blurred it before printing it out and giving it to you, they totally could have cleaned it up more.” Simon hits a button and the printer on the desk starts up. The black and white photo he had been given is cleaner and confirms what they already know, that Verlac and Jonathan are the same man.

“Why would they purposefully give you a low-quality photo?” Raphael asks, handing it over to him.

Alec takes it, shaking his head in disbelief, “They wouldn’t…” He mumbles to himself before his eyes drifted away, the final puzzle pieces coming together and he hurried to find Lydia, shouting a thanks over his back.

He finds Lydia near the vending machines, staring far too hard at a bag of gummy worms. 

As much as she claims the man is a snake and disagrees with his morals, he knows deep down she still looked out for him and no doubt was feeling responsible for his death.

“It’s not your fault, Lydia, there’s no way we could’ve known he was a target.”

She shakes her head, her blonde hair was falling out of her pigtail and her make up was smudged, Alec thinks it’s the first time he’s ever seen her look less than put together.

“It’s the Morgenstern Family, I should’ve known he wasn’t going to be safe. I could’ve protected him- kept him hidden at least until we solved this thing.”

“Lyds, we’ve been at this case for a month and a half, you longer, we couldn’t have hidden him forever. We can’t control what has already happened, but we can control how we chose to move forward with it.” He remembers Magnus saying something similar to him during one of their first sessions and it always resonated during times like these.

She sniffles a little before clearing her throat and shaking her head, “You’re right. I know you’re right.” She takes a deep breath and blows it out before undoing her ponytail and re-tying it, “Tell me what you’ve got.”

He hands her the freshly printed photo Lewis cleaned up and relayed the message.

“I can’t think of any reason they would give us a bad photo unless they were purposely trying to impede us. I hate to say it but I think one of them is a double agent too, I don’t know how but maybe-”

“Starkweather.” Lydia breaths out, a fire in her eyes. “He was the only one in the room when I told Cap about Aldertree, he’s the one that gave us that misleading intel at the beginning, and I bet he’s the reason there was so much red tape getting the files from organized crime, Alec it’s  _ him.” _

It’s only been a month and a half on this job but Alec is going to need a vacation after all this whiplash. He’s still putting the last pieces together when his jaw locks and his eyes flashed with anger. “He’s the reason Jace is in the hospital.” 

He turns and starts walking fast to Garroway’s office, Lydia running to keep up with him.

“I kept thinking it over and over why the hell would they target Jace and not  _ me, _ but it’s because we met Starkweather _ together _ , he must’ve thought we were partners. Jace is laying in a hospital bed because of that backstabbing son of a bitch and I’ll take him out myself if I have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and kudos if you liked! I love hearing from you all (:
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Em.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops this is late. 
> 
> I hope you all had a wonderful holiday/winter break! 
> 
> We're in the penultimate chapter so this is going to start wrapping things up as we make our way to the conclusion.
> 
> Thank you everyone so much for sticking by and continuing to read this <3
> 
> As always, thank you to Kim and Charlie, my favorite cheerleaders.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Em

When they laid out the evidence in front of Garroway, they didn’t blame him for not wanting to believe it. Garroway had been shocked, to say the least. Apparently, he had worked with Starkweather for the better part of the last decade, but even he could admit it was pretty damning.

After the initial shock wore off, he told them most of their case was circumstantial, and they needed something solid if they were going to accuse an FBI agent. This of course led the three of them to come up with a plan to trap and bring him in, knowing this might be their only shot at bringing down either of the Morgensterns.

Garroway brought in Lewis and Santiago claiming that this case took priority and that the four of them would need to work together to stay under the radar and to trust no one.

They brought all the information to the conference rooms, and after Lewis did a sweep of the room to ensure there were no bugs, Alec took lead, divvying up roles to figure out the best course of action.

Lewis got tasked with finding a paper trail that connected Starkweather to either of the Morgensterns but was warned to be careful as to not tip anyone off. Alec was a little concerned at how excited he was to break a few laws but decided it was for the greater good anyway.

Since Santiago was the only detective who could actually leave the station, he used it to his advantage to follow Starkweather around town, gathering any information he could to tie him to either one of them.

That left him and Lydia to look at the remaining files with a different pair of glasses on, both excited to have finally leveled the playing field. For every event Lewis gave them, they hunted down any source that could’ve shown Starkweather on camera with any of the Morgenstern associates.

Their search takes them the better part of the week, none of them getting more than a couple of hours of sleep a night forcing them to move in Garroway’s personal coffee maker into the room. 

Magnus had visited whenever he could, not wanting to bother them but helping them go through the massive amounts of information. 

And if he rewarded Alec with make-out sessions and handjobs during their breaks no one but them had to know.

Handjobs in a police station sounded like the title of a cheesy porno and something Alec never thought he’d be doing. But of course, he should’ve known better than to continue that line of thinking now that he was dating ( _???)  _ someone who liked to turn his life upside down.

It happened a few hours after lunch, which he had skipped to watch old interviews (that got him absolutely  _ nowhere) _ inevitably making him hangry during research. He had been snapping at the two of them, frustrated that the interviews weren’t helpful and griping that they needed to do more. Lydia had gotten annoyed with him but didn’t comment, simply leaving the conference room to return to her desk. 

Even Magnus stopping by to help with rewatching didn’t make him feel better, he just turned his frustrations onto Lewis. His attitude didn’t last long with Magnus in the room, the older man politely asking him to come with him to his office to grab a few files. 

Alec followed obediently, ignoring the look of relief Lewis had when he had left. The second they had closed the door though, Magnus crowded him up against it, locking it with one hand while the other made its way to his hip.

“You’re stressed, I get that. Everyone is on their toes and lacking sleep, I get that. But skipping lunch isn’t an option, neither is taking your frustrations out on your partners.” Magnus scolding him for not taking care of himself made him feel something in his heart but Magnus pushing him up against the door made him feel something in his pants.

His breath shortened and his eyes flicked down to look at his lips before going back to his eyes, keeping his mouth shut as the other continued.

“Catching Valentine and Jonathan might be number one on your to-do list, but taking care of yourself is a priority. You’re no use to anyone here if you aren’t at 100%. I suggest you take a break, get something to eat, drink a few glasses of water, apologize to Lydia and Sherman and then look at things with a clear head.” 

Alec nodded, knowing that Magnus was right (he normally is) and he wanted to make up for his behavior he really did, but his lower half did not seem to get the memo. He feels horrified as his jeans got tighter and prays that Magnus can’t tell.

But of course the universe hates him and Magnus feels him where he’s pressed against his hip, and his voice immediately turning from calm to mischievous, “Darling, are you hard? Is there another type of frustration going on here?”

He blushes at that, turning his face away so he didn’t have to look him in the eyes. He can tell Magnus feels bad at the teasing as they haven’t exactly explored this part of their relationship yet, and he just knows Magnus is being more than a little cautious.

Before he can let his mind race, Magnus pulls him back and presses his lips against his, effectively silencing his brain and making his heart jump. He instinctively brings a hand around to wrap around his waist, his fingers splayed out on his back. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of kissing Magnus. 

When the other man finally pulls away they’re both panting a little. “Go get something to eat and drink, apologize, and if you behave for the rest of the day we’ll see what we can do about that little problem of yours.”

Alec whined a little petulantly but took a few deep breaths to will away his little friend, “Fine. I hate when you’re right.”

It brings a laugh out of the other man who just cups his neck and kisses him again, “You love it.”

With the promise of a reward, he stayed on his best behavior. He ate a whole sandwich (with chips!) and drank a bottle of water before apologizing to both Lydia and Lewis, both of whom just pat his back.

So that’s how Alec ended up just after quitting time with a lapful of Magnus on the big blue couch. He’s given and received a few here and there, but something about Magnus kissing the air out of him with a hand wrapped around his cock made him see stars. 

*

Turns out all of their hard work finally started to pay off, each of the members being able to gather enough intelligence to put together a case, it might not have been enough to convict him, but that wasn’t their goal right now.

Screenshots of Starkweather meeting with Malachi Dieudonne and Samuel Blackwell, an adviser and a captain in Morgenstern’s operation, multiple times was just the tip of the iceberg. Lewis had managed to track direct deposits into his bank accounts from shell companies that linked to the Morgensterns, and Santiago had even got a few photos of him at the docks.

They called Starkweather into their precinct under the guise that they had a major break in the case, and wanted him to speak to a suspect. 

In the fishbowl, Lewis was dressed in plain clothes, pretending to be nervous with his hands cuffed to the table. On the other side of the glass stood Santiago, Magnus, and Lydia, all holding their breath that this plan would go through.

All of their shoulders tense when Alec brings in Starkweather to the room, both of them sitting across a shaking Lewis. Alec plays his normal hardass, setting the scene that they had caught Lewis with a kilo of product and wanted the name of his distributor. He plays it up, slamming the table a bit and showing him doctored photos.

Magnus couldn’t help but enjoy the show, he did love watching his boy ‘work.’

Almost like Raphael could read his mind the shorter man bumped him with his hip. “Dios, Magnus, you’re shameless.”

“Can you blame me? Look at the tight ass, you could bounce a nickel off of that.” It earns him a slap against his shoulder but it was totally worth it.

Lydia on his left rolls her eyes but even she has a ghost of a smile, “I didn’t know him very long, but even I can tell he’s happier, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”

They tune back just in time to hear Alec start flipping the table on Starkweather. 

He had one of the stills of Starkweather meeting with Malachi and feigned confusion, “Tell me that’s not you, Lewis.”

“It’s not me. Actually, I think it’s him.”

It goes downhill for the agent then and there. 

Alec and Simon gang up on him, pulling out almost every shred of evidence they had from his meetings to his bank accounts. At one point Santiago comes in with photos of his house, pointing out a certain work of art that was in the window that was connected to Valentine.

Alec happily shoves it in his face, “And it’s this photo that actually got us the warrant to search your house. Officers, as we speak, are clearing through it, tearing it up and they will find anything and everything connecting you to the Morgensterns. Your ass will rot in a cell for the rest of your life. Is that what you want Hodge? A giant target on your back saying you’re Valentine’s bitch?”

Magnus furrowed his eyebrows at that, leaning over to Lydia, “I didn’t know you guys got a warrant?”

Her eyes are sparkling but they don’t move from the scene in front of them, “We didn’t.”

*

It all comes to fruition when Starkweather finally gives himself up, admitting he had been working under Valentine for the past decade, making sure to keep attention away from his operation and imposing any and every investigation he could.

With this one though, Jonathan had gone rogue, and Valentine’s whole team was scrambling, everyone preparing for war. They had found out that Jonathan had been raising an army as well, collecting the many enemies Valentine had created during his reign, which apparently there was no shortage of.

The interrogation finally ends with Starkweather giving up a location, a holding warehouse in Chelsea where Valentine holds his product until it’s time to distribute. He warned he would only be there for one night, as the man didn’t trust anyone else right now. 

The three officers filter out, letting Garroway finish chewing him out so they could work on getting a tact team set up. 

When Alec comes out Magnus not so subtly drags him away to his office, pushing him against the door and kissing him like his life depended on it. “You’re so hot when you go all bad cop. I know we’ve been having lunch together all week but do you think you could come over for another date tonight?”

Despite loathing that he was on desk duty, the one good thing that came out of it was that he got to see Magnus daily, having lunch in the dimly lit safety of his office, occasionally followed by him curling up on his lap for a small power nap. Normally he would go home to take care of Jace who recently got released from the hospital, but it was Izzy’s turn tonight, and with things finally coming together he thinks he deserves a night to himself. 

He nods excitedly, “But maybe you could come over instead? I doubt I can cook as amazing as you can, but I make a mean spaghetti and meatballs.” 

Magnus laughs against his chest and presses a soft kiss to the tip of his nose, “I would be delighted to, Alexander. It’s a date.” They stay like that for a little bit longer, pressing lazy kisses and hands roaming across their bodies.

Eventually, they get interrupted by Santiago, who apparently was the only one brave enough to come collect them and remind them that they couldn’t drop the ball just yet. Alec blushes at getting caught and tries to fix his hair from where Magnus had run his hands through it, but gave up, saying goodbye to Magnus and quickly making his escape with Santiago.

The sting wasn’t planned for another two days, so Alec and Lydia spent that time making sure they had all their ducks in a row, ensuring that when they finally brought Valentine in there was absolutely no way he would be able to weasel out of it. The paperwork of course was the most difficult thing, each a stickler for the rules but happy to do it.

That night Magnus came over after like it was the most natural thing, and he sat on the counter drinking a glass of wine while Alec talked about horror stories of Izzy’s cooking. As the sauce simmers he slides between Magnus’ legs, his newfound favorite place.

Magnus pressed a soft kiss to his temple, and brushed a thumb across his cheek, “How are you holding up, dear?”

He leans into the touch, his eyes falling shut and relishing in the warmth, “I’m surprisingly alright. Jace is out of the hospital but laying low, we’ve got a plan in place and I’m here with you. That’s as much as I can ask for right now.” 

The words make Magnus’ heart do a stupid little dance, and he bumps his nose against his cheek. “You’re so sweet pup, what happened to my terrifying beanstalk in the fishbowl?”

Alec rolls his eyes at the multiple nicknames he drops in the sentence, “You’re not a criminal.”

“You don’t know that.” Magnus' response is immediate and probably should scare him a little.

“Are you?”

There’s a moment between them, and Alec pulls back from where he’s standing to look at Magnus in the eye, “Mags? You’re not a criminal right?”

Magnus crinkles his eyes when he smiles at him, “Of course not dear, but I will have to admit there are still a fair bit of things you don’t know about me, and if it’s okay with you, I’m not quite ready to share those yet.”

Alec frowns a bit at that, with how much he and Magnus talked he guesses the man is right, he’s heard stories of his travels all over the world and his friends, but nothing really before college. He heard him talk about some of his heartbreaks, but nothing about his childhood, something Alec never pushed.

He shakes his head, “Magnus of course, I completely understand, you let me tell you things on my own time, it’s only fair I extend the same respect to you.” Magnus’ shoulders drop in relief, and he feels a flash of anger for anyone that made Magnus feel less for not being able to open up to them.

“You said it yourself, every time you re-tell your story you relive that trauma, I can’t ask that of you if you’re not ready.”

Magnus’ eyes get a little watery at that, putting down the wine glass and kissing his forehead, “You’re a good man, Alexander, better than most. I knew I was right about you.”

He preens under the praise, stepping back into Magnus’ space and tucking his head in his chest. Whatever happened at the raid didn’t matter, his family was okay and he got to experience love for the first time, Valentine Morgenstern could suck his dick for all he cared.

The rest of the night goes relatively well, Magnus promises he enjoys Alec’s spaghetti and they talk about various things, from fatty tuna to the inaccuracies of crime shows. When the wine breaks what’s left of Alec’s filter, he sums up enough courage to ask Magnus where he thinks their relationship is going before blushing and apologizing profusely.

“Don’t answer that- that’s just me overthinking everything, this is only our second date and we’ve barely known each other for two months-”

Magnus interrupts his incessant rambling with a laugh, “Alexander, it’s a fair question, it’s like when we had our first session I wanted us to be honest with the expectations we had for one another, it’s the same concept. That being said, it has only been our second date and we can take our time to label it if you want. I know this is your first relationship but you’d also be my first one in a while too, we can do this at our speed, it’s only been two months, I’m not expecting you to move in with me.” He laughs a little at the remembrance of a couple he once knew that did that.

“On a side note, I think therapy is beneficial to you, and should we continue on this path of dating to exclusivity, I think you should find another therapist. I can’t in good conscience continue to see you in that capacity, it’s not healthy nor morally correct. Now you’re always welcome to come by my office for a nap or to talk, but no more official sessions, and I would be happy to give you a list of references.”

He knows Magnus is correct, knows it’s against some moral code of conduct for therapists to not sleep with their clients, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t break his heart a little bit. He agrees anyway, just hoping that any therapist he chooses is at least half as good as Magnus is.

*

The night of the raid Alec could barely sleep. They were told that the raid would happen overnight, but in no circumstances were they allowed to participate.

He had been up half the night terrified that everything would go wrong and they would piss off the Morgensterns so much they all would make the hit list. He tries to busy himself with going over the evidence they had against Starkweather, wanting to make sure the man suffered for putting the word out on Jace when said blonde boy comes in.

Jace had been bouncing back and forth between his and Izzy’s place (not wanting to put Clary in unnecessary danger) until this whole thing could blow over. He’s wearing one of Alec’s old shirts and some ratty sweatpants that are just a little too long. “Can’t sleep?”

He shakes his head, closing a file and rubbing his face, “I’ll sleep when The Morgensterns are behind bars. Did I wake you?”

Blonde hair shakes in negatory, “my shoulder is bothering me is all.” He goes to grab two beers from the fridge and sits next to him on the couch, handing him one. “How’s Magnus?”

“Wow, just like that, huh?”

“Just like that, subtlety is not my strong suit. I'm not even going to try and dance around that one.”

Alec rolls his eyes at his brother’s antics but drinks the beer nonetheless, “He’s good, we’re good, great. I never thought I could have some like him.”

“Hot?"

“Male.”

And Jace is suddenly reminded that Alec has been getting shit from their family left and right the whole time growing up, forced to believe that his duty and their family’s reputation came before his happiness and definitely before his sexuality.

Jace sighs and leans back against him, “I’m happy for you man, I’m glad you’re finally putting yourself first. And bagging Magnus? Who knew you had in you bro.” He laughs, shaking his head in disbelief.

Alec shrugs, “Just because I got him doesn’t mean I know how.”

“Amen to that. He’s gotta be good in bed though right? All those partners?”

The next mention of his partners makes him freeze up a little, knowing that Magnus has years upon years of experience not only in this country but in most of Europe and Asia as well. He tries not to think so hard about that and the fact that the furthest he’s gotten was a few blowjobs in the back of a frat house. He shakes his head of the thought and tries to tell himself he should just bring these worries up to Magnus instead of letting his brain run wild. “Don’t objectify him… And we’re taking our time.”

Jace looks at him with scrunched eyebrows, “Wait what? Are you telling me you’ve been seeing Magnus for the past three weeks and haven’t slept with him once?”

He feels himself blush a little at being called out but drops his gaze to his lap, “We’ve done other things, but as far as actual, you know  _ penetrative-” _

“Don’t say that.”

“We’re taking it slow. He knows I’m a virgin and I just want to be sure, is all.”

The blonde immediately feels bad squeezing Alec’s shoulder, “Hey I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that, you know I have no filter. I’m glad you’re taking it slow, he’s a good guy and I would want nothing more than for him to be  _ it _ for you.”

“Thank you, I know it’s only been a few months but I think he’s-”

He’s interrupted by his phone going off,  _ Garroway _ flashing across the screen. He’s just picked it up when he hears the news, 

_ “ We got Valentine.” _

*

He gets to the precinct barely dressed, really only switching his sweatpants for jeans and hurrying to meet Lydia. She herself looked half-dressed, a big t-shirt draped over her leggings and her hair in a messy bun. Together they watch as a handful of cops walk various characters into the station, each one handcuffed and giving anyone who looks their way a death glare. 

Coming up on the end is Garroway and Santiago dragging in Valentine, who unlike his associates, weren't glaring or showing a modicum of anger, and in fact, looked  _ smug. _

Alec clenched and unclenched his fist as the rest of the station seemed to freeze, watching them walk into processing. He and Valentine seemed to meet eyes for a second, but the mob boss just glazed over him, not even aware he had put his brother in the hospital.

The station goes quiet once they’re led away, no one really sure what to say or do. They don’t get a chance too either, as a second later the precinct is filled with suits, one, in particular, asking to speak to whoever’s in charge.

When no one makes a move Alec stands in front of him, hands crossed and shoulders square. “Captain Garroway is processing Morgenstern, who the hell are you?”

“FBI Special Agent Ragnor Fell, and you?” There’s a hint of a British accent and Alec thinks it fits his pompous attitude.

“Detective Alec Lightwood. What the hell-”

“Lightwood? Do you know Magnus?” The British accent immediately went softer and his eyes widened.

“Magnus Bane? Yeah he’s our resident behavioral analyst, did you say Ragnor?”

They’re interrupted but a familiar voice that Alec has come to love, “Cabbage, is that you!”

They both turn to see Magnus coming in through the front doors, a tight black shirt that made Alec drool over his sleep pants. He watches as Magnus wraps his arms around the agent and the agent stiffening, “Magnus, not at work!” 

One of the agents behind Fell snickers into his hand and Fell glares at him as Magnus pulls away, “I didn’t know you got assigned this case?” He pauses and looks around seemingly remembered he was in the middle of a precinct and clears his throat.

“Sorry, we can talk after, um Agent Fell, this is-”

“Alec Lightwood, he’s as you described him. Maybe we should take this somewhere more private?”

Magnus turns to Alec who nods and leads them and Lydia away into the conference room where the walls are filled with papers and photos. Fell looks around the room appreciating the various bits of information they collected. “Your work is very thorough, I’m quite impressed.”

Lydia clears her throat and sits on the table, “Look not that I don’t trust you, but the last FBI agent assigned to this case turned out to be a double agent too, how do we know you’re just another one of Valentine’s soldiers?”

“Because Ragnor saved my life when I was a teenager, I trust him implicitly.” And it’s the first time Alec’s ever heard Magnus talk about anything about Magnus’ life pre-college, so he and Lydia shared a look, agreeing that it was enough to trust the man.

Alec sees the little quirk at the corners of Ragnor’s mouth at that mention but neither of them comment, instead jumping right into the case. They all catch Ragnor up and what they’ve discovered and who they’ve been able to identify as moles and what they would like to do moving forward.

“I would like to sit in on the interview, I believe your Captain is running point?” 

With that, they escort him to the fishbowl, and while Ragnor and Alec go in, Magnus, Lydia, Lewis, and Santiago stand on the other side of the glass watching with anticipation. The man on the other side of the glass seems calm, poised as if ready for whatever they throw at him. 

Magnus makes notes on what he can tell, the man has no nervous ticks, no increased breathing and his eyes remain in one spot, unflinching as the three inside read off his crimes. 

While normally his detective is asking questions and up at bat, Alec is standing in the corner, leaning against the wall as he watches the other two question him. Magnus can tell the man is studying him, his movements, his speech patterns, anything that could possibly give him the upper hand. It’s what he would’ve done after all.

On his body, Magnus is donning a microphone and earpiece set that is connected to Alec’s, who’s awaiting any comment he might make. He’s snapped back into the interview when Valentine finally speaks more than one word.

“I have nothing to say to any of you. My business is completely legitimate and my team would be happy to provide you with any documents pertaining to our operation.”

Magnus wants to slap the smug smirk off his face.

“Oh we’re well aware of your  _ operation _ Mr. Morgenstern, but we do have a few concerns that very well can’t be ignored.” Ragnor hums and pulls out a thick file, flipping to a page of pictures.

Magnus watches as his eyes barely glance over the stills they have of Valentine at the docks, but his eyes double-take at one such picture. 

Due to the angle, he can’t see it, so he holds the microphone up to his mouth before speaking, “Alexander, what’s that picture of? The one on the right?”

Alec pushes himself off the wall with his leg, and locking eye contact with Valentine he grabs the picture and holds it so that Magnus can see through the glass but not so that Valentine knew what he was doing. 

Upon closer inspection, he sees right away what made him flinch, and it was so obvious he wants to smack himself. He holds the microphone against his lips once more, only needing to say one word to his detective, “Jonathan.”

Alec’s laugh surprised them all. 

Even Valentine himself raised an eyebrow at the detective but made no move to acknowledge him. “I can’t tell you what was specifically in those containers, I handle so many a day I can hardly keep track. You know who would know though? My lawyer.” 

It seems Valentine’s little games of him jerking them around had become boring.

“You want your lawyer? That’s fine. We don’t really care about you anyway.” Alec hummed tossing the photo back on the table. 

Garroway and Fell give him a weird look, but trust that they know what he’s doing. “I mean all you handle is imports right? Don’t even get your hands dirty? That’s okay we could care less about you…”

“We want your son.”

The flinch and glare Valentine makes clicks in the pieces for the rest of them. 

Alec leans on the table, coming in close to Valentine’s face, and Magnus smirks. His boy was finally ready to play defense.

“Word on the street is that Daddy is getting dethroned. We talked to a few of your guys and no one thinks you’ll have the balls to squash your own son, but Jonathan on the other hand? The guy kills for sport. He’ll have no worries whacking you and stealing your empire.” He gathers up the file and the other two seem to get the hint, cleaning up as well. 

“We have you for tax evasion, extortion, minor things you know? You’ll go down as just another harmless, greedy businessman. You’ll be nothing but a bug in a jumpsuit.” Garroway chuckles, opening the door so they could step out.

“Oh, you really think anybody actually fears Jonathan? That boy doesn’t even know what an original thought is.” Valentine scoffed, surprisingly all of the agents inside and outside the room. The way he spoke about his son was substantially colder than any other bit of information he gave and it sent Magnus chills.

The three officers gave each other a look before Fell shrugged, “Well our records say otherwise, Captain, next time don’t call me if you’ve only got a small cod, let me know when you’ve got Jonathan in here.” He rolls his eyes and leaves.

Magnus watches as Ragnor leaves and immediately comes onto their side, “I suppose I have you to thank for that little stunt your boy pulled in there?” He raised an eyebrow but it was paired with a smile, “You two make quite the pair. I shall tell Catarina to reserve another spot at dinner. That means you’re invited as well Mr. Lewis, don’t be late.” Ragnor calls over to where Simon is leaning on Raphael, the late hours catching up to him.

Simon throws a hand up in acknowledgment but otherwise falls limp.

It makes Raphael huff a little laugh, before turning to Magnus, “He’s right you know.”

At Magnus’ raised eyebrow the shorter man continued, “You two make a good team. I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy in a while. It’s nice.”

Hearing it come from Elias is one thing, hearing it come from Rapha was another. The stoic man rarely stuck his nose in anyone’s business, rarely commented on situations unless it was specifically asked of him. His friend was always his voice of reason, and this was him basically giving Alec his stamp of approval in so many words.

“Feels nice.” He admits playing with his ear cuff, and the two share a little smile before turning his head to the two men coming from the room. 

“He’s lawyering up. I’m thinking it’ll take most of the night and morning, why don’t you all head home, get a good night’s sleep because something tells me this is just the beginning.” Garroway sighs rubbing both hands over his face.

Normally Alec wasn’t the one just ‘go home,’ normally he would’ve stayed at his desk making sure they had all their ducks in a row so they could fight this head-on. But when he flicks his eyes over to Magnus, he realizes he has other priorities that night.

Magnus had caught on to that look, quirking an eyebrow and knowing that while things might start picking up, they both wanted the night to themselves. “I think I’ll be making my exit then, beauty sleep and all.” He smiles at everyone politely and when he catches eyes with Raphael the younger man just has a smug smirk. 

He made his way out, knowing that Alec would soon be following him.

*

Alec watched Magnus walk away, and he made a show of checking his watch, “I might stay and just finish up a few things, I still need to review-”

“Go home, Lightwood.” Garroway orders with a grin.

He doesn’t have to tell him twice as Alec hightails it out of there, Lewis laughing in the background. 

Turns out, Magnus had been waiting for him by the elevator, seemingly knowing that he’d be close behind. Since they were still at work, he made no move to touch the other man, holding his breath until they were in the sanctity of the elevator. 

Once the doors shut, Magnus started talking, “I was very impressed with your interrogation, strategizing seems to be one of your strong suits.”

Alec blushed a little at the praise, it always made him feel weird but of course, like everything else, it was different when it came to Magnus, “Thanks. Couldn’t have done it without you though. Hitting him where it hurt was a smart move.”

“Mm, we do make quite a team,” Magnus mumbled repeating Raphael’s words from earlier.

There’s a moment of silence between them, “So are you just going to head home?” Alec asked hoping he wasn’t too forward.

“That is the plan, yes. Would you like to join me?”

It seemed like Alec wasn’t the only one thinking about what they could do with their time off if the look of mischief in Magnus’ eyes told him anything. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

And so they went.

Their journey back to Magnus’ place was hurried and tension-filled, each man wanting nothing but to get behind closed doors. The second it shut though, Alec eagerly pressed Magnus up against it, hands pulling their shoulders together.

“Alexander, we need to talk before we can go further, darling,” Magnus whispers, pulling away for a second, hands steadying his hips.

“Is it ‘cause I’m a virgin? Because I’m ready, I am. I want to take this step with you.” He whispers trying to connect their lips again. 

Magnus chuckled and patted his chest, “Come sit, let’s take a second before we rush into anything.”

Alec pouted but obeyed nonetheless, both of them making their way to the couch to sit, and waiting patiently for the other man to speak.

“I’m glad you think you’re ready and I’m happy that you’re comfortable enough with me and our relationship to take this step, but I have to be honest, that this is a big step for me too. You know my past, you know I’ve had partners, but the way I feel about you is new, and to be honest, it makes me feel nervous.”

He intertwines their hands together, “In a way, this is my first time in a while, I just don’t want to mess things up.”

Alec felt a little like shit, he had been so worried about himself being ready he never even thought that Magnus  _ wouldn’t  _ be. He starts to apologize profusely, hoping he didn’t just ruin things because he practically jumped the man in his entryway. But of course, Magnus just calms him down and assures him he has nothing to be worried about.

The older man talks a little bit more, and granted it’s not the sexiest form of foreplay, Alec is still excited by the time it’s over, and admittedly feels better about both of them having laid all their cards out. When they leaned into each other to let their lips meet, he tells himself that he’s going to make sure that after this night, Magnus would never think of his partners again.

As they make their way into the bedroom, hands wandering and lips moving, he can’t help but think that despite the short time that they’ve known each other, he doesn’t think he can live without him.

He hopes he doesn’t have to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew one more to go!! A very melancholy moment to see my baby being wrapped up, I did spend so much time and effort creating this so thank you all for your support!
> 
> Comment and Kudos if you liked <3
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> Em.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. This is it. The final chapter of my baby.
> 
> Can I just say it was so much fun creating this world and figuring out how the boys would fall into it! First I want to thank Kim and Charlie, my two favorite cheerleaders that have been encouraging me to write this from day 1 despite my hesitation to do so. I also want to thank everyone that continued to keep up with the updates and took the time to comment, it really made my heart full <3
> 
> Like I've said from the beginning, this story was my baby, and I am so so proud of it so it means the world that you all liked it too. Sadly I do not see this getting a sequel (if anything an official re-write outside of Shadowhunters and AO3!!) so alas, this is goodbye to these boys in this world. 
> 
> ((Also IFYKYK but this was a thinly veiled love-letter to Matt Daddario ((he has my whole-ass heart), and thus the title was a combination of two songs that made me think of him haha.))
> 
> Thank you all so much for all the love, and I hope you enjoy the final chapter + epilogue of Brooklyn Lights!!!
> 
> Em

Alec was going to _kill_ Valentine Morgenstern.

Waking up next to Magnus after an amazing night had been such a warm feeling. The blanket was half on them showing off Magnus’ miles of golden skin, and their legs were so tangled you couldn’t tell where one ended and one began. The older man had been resting on his chest, a possessive hand thrown over his own naked waist and hair poking Alec’s cheek.

It really was a perfect way to wake up.

Until Garroway had called him in, telling him that Valentine was talking and he wanted to make a deal.

So with an annoyed groan, he had slid out of bed, wincing at the newfound soreness in his lower half, and attempted to get ready for the day. Due to the impromptu sleepover, he only had last nights’ clothes to slip into, but forgoing the t-shirt in hopes he could borrow one from Magnus.

He was just starting the coffee maker when the other man came out of the bedroom clad in just his underwear and a flowing robe. “I came for the coffee but I guess I’m staying for the view.” 

The cheesy pick-up line made Alec roll his eyes but pressed a kiss against his cheek as he came by. “That was bad, I think you lost your coffee privileges.” He pulls the mug away teasingly. 

“Alexander, withholding a man’s coffee is a declaration of war!” Magnus gasped, holding a hand to his heart.

It makes Alec snort, “My apologies, your highness, the last thing we need is another war on the horizon.”

Magnus wraps his arms around his waist at that, “Is that why you’re up so early, Detective? Getting ready to take on a familial mob?”

The feeling of Magnus around him has his shoulders drooping almost instantly, bringing him back into the nice feeling he had when he woke up this morning. The smell of sandalwood encompasses them, surrounding him in what feels like a bubble he dare not pop. 

He turns around in their embrace, nosing his temple, “He’s talking, Garroway wants all hands on deck. I swear I wouldn’t be leaving if I didn’t have to, I really enjoyed last night.” He presses a kiss to the side of his jaw. 

“The pleasure was all mine, Alexander. And don’t worry about leaving, I know cops keep weird hours. I say when this mess is over, we go on a proper date. I want to see the botanical gardens before the flowers die off.” A hand runs through his messy hair, another reminder of their late-night activities.

“It’s a date.” He whispers and begrudgingly pulls away, “Oh by the way, can I borrow a shirt?”

*

When he finally makes it to the station (after kissing Magnus senseless at the door) he’s greeted by Jace, spinning around in his desk chair.

“Well look who it is. When you didn’t come last night I thought it was because you got caught up here, but now I see that’s not what happened. Are those the same pants from yesterday?” Jace smirked, kicking his feet up onto his desk.

Alec rolls his eyes and shoves his feet off, “What are you doing here? Cap said you weren’t supposed to show your face ‘til we had Jonathan behind bars.”

The blonde shrugs and stands up to get into his space, “I was a little worried when you didn’t come back or answer my texts, so I called Cap, and he said you went _home,_ but it was safe enough to come here. Judging from that limp you got though I’m guessing you went to Magnus’?” The heterochromatic eyes were mischievous, eyebrows waggling.

Alec looks around making sure no one was around them, ‘“I did. And before you ask, I’m not giving you any details.” He whispers, dropping his bag at their feet. 

“Just tell me it was good, right? I’m your brother, I gotta make sure that your first time was good, especially since it was with one of my best friends.”

He sighs and rubs his face but can’t help the small smile that comes up, “It was great. I’m glad it was with him.”

Jace grins wide and slaps him on the back, “That’s my boy. Who knew that in the middle of taking down a mob family you would make time to get laid.”

“Yeah yeah, piss off, I gotta go check in with Lydia and the guys.” He swats Jace away and heads into the conference room.

There everyone is huddled around their conference table and bulletin boards, talking amongst themselves, he takes a seat next to Santiago who looks over and smirks at him, “Nice shirt. Reminds me of the one I got Magnus for his birthday.”

Alec blushed brightly, just clearing his throat and addressing the table, hoping that no one else heard him. Garroway debriefs him about a few more things while Fell mentions how they have Starkweather in holding, the evidence they collected enough to keep him while they did a more thorough investigation. 

“But for now, Lightwood, Valentine has agreed to talk to us with his lawyer present, I want you, Branwell, and Fell in there, we need anything and everything we can get that might help us bring Jonathan in alive.”

The agents in question nodded and started grabbing their things. 

As he and Lydia make their way over to the fishbowl she nudges him with her shoulder, “Any reason you look oddly relaxed?”

“Oh _angel_ , not you too.” He groans rubbing his eyes, “Can’t I just be in a good mood because we’ve got Morgenstern?”

Lydia snorts, “I highly doubt _he’s_ the reason you got a good night’s sleep.”

“Shut it.” He gives her a shoulder bump back as they make their way into Interrogation, going in, and sitting around the table.

“Detectives, my name is Jia Penhallow, I’ll be Mr. Morgenstern’s counsel. I’d like to make one thing clear, we are here as a courtesy, so no threats, no 5th amendment issues, no tricks.” Her voice is sharp, leaving no room for argument.

“Understood, Ms. Penhallow.” Fell clears his throat and slides over a file, “Just to be clear, we’re charging your client here with a number of things that are all arguably of equal importance. But the FBI and the wonderful Detectives here at the 67 are willing to offer you a deal.”

Alec and Lydia both snap their head to look at Fell, both surprised at this information, “Wait a second we weren’t told-”

“It has been cleared by your Captain, Detective Branwell.” Fell mumbles before turning his attention back to Morgenstern.

“Here’s the deal, we won’t ask for the death penalty if you give up the names of all the cops local and federal that you have on your payroll, and,” He holds up the black and white photo Alec has spent months staring at.

“You give up your son.”

“That’s hardly a deal, you want to paint him a target and only promise not to kill him?” Penhallow interjects shaking her head, “Forty years, you get the payroll and he’s transferred to a private facility.”

“So he can live out the rest of his life in a cushy cell with people at his beck and call? Fifty years, public facility, we drop the extortion and bribery charges.”

Morgenstern turns his head to her, whispering in her ear for a second. 

“Forty-five years, private facility, we give you Jonathan, the payroll, a few public officials and you drop the extortion charges.” 

Fell taps his pen on the paper, thinking it over, “I’ll talk to my boss.” He stands up and motions for the other detectives to follow him out.

Alec crowds into the agent’s space the second the door shuts, “What the hell was that? No one told us we were dealing anything. Morgenstern is scum but you’re offering him a deal on a silver platter?”

The other agents around them just looked away, no one wanting to get in the middle of it.

“Look Lightwood, this isn’t personal, I respect you as a detective, but you’re new here. When it comes to things like this, we have to look at the bigger picture.”

“Bigger picture? Politics, really? Is that how you bureaucrats justify letting a monster get the VIP treatment?”

Ragnor raises an eyebrow at him and crosses his arms, “Detective, you think I want to make this deal? Morgenstern’s a bastard, I want his head on a stick, but he isn’t the only monster out there. He has connections, he knows things, he’s a valuable asset and my higher-ups want to ensure that we get as much as possible.”

Alec shakes his head in disbelief and points to the bulletin board the pictures of each of the five missing women, “My job isn’t to make your higher-ups happy, my job is to do what I can for them and everyone else Valentine fucked over.”

“Gentlemen, you two are causing quite the scene, why don’t we finish this in my office.” Magnus interrupted seemingly out of nowhere. His eyes were hard flicking between the two of them.

“I don’t need a time out, this is _wrong_. They’re using politics to excuse the law.” He knows his voice is raised but he can’t help the annoyance and frustration bleed out. “We’ve spent weeks, months building this case and he wants to put him in a private facility and call it justice.”

“Alec, calm down,” Magnus whispers leaning close, a hand poised on his arm.

“Calm? Wait- wait are you actually _agreeing?_ What, did you sleep with _him_ too? _”_ Alec growled, pulling his arm away and glaring at him, not even realizing the words that left his mouth.

The room went silent, all eyes on them and no one daring to breathe. 

Alec freezes and steps back, mouth opening and closing as he sees the absolute hurt flash across Magnus’ eyes. There’s a lump in his throat that he tries to swallow around but it’s stuck along with any words he could tell him.

Before anyone can say anything Santiago steps forward, “You better watch your mouth.” He growled with his fists balled, pushing Magnus behind him.

Fell too looked like a whole different kind of angry, the once calm man had an enraged look, mouth twitching to fire back in defense of his friend.

Magnus has yet to say anything, eyes turned down and eyebrows furrowed in confusion and heartbreak, not believing that Alec, _his Alexander_ , could say such a thing to him. “I think we all just need to take a step back. Ragnor, you get in touch with your boss, Lydia, dear, maybe it’s best you speak to Garroway about this. Alec,” His voice wavered as he finally addressed the other boy.

“My office.” The others looked unsure about whether or not to leave Alec with Magnus, especially Raphael, but a shared look between the two was enough to move the shorter man, mumbling something under his breath.

Alec watched as Magnus made his way to his office, the others separating to their posts, but not without a few throwing him a few dirty looks.

Making his way to the office feels like a worse version of the walk of shame, he keeps his head down until they’ve reached the door, and he stands in the middle of the room nervous, fiddling with the spot between his fingers. He watches as Magnus comes in, shutting the door behind him gently, before coming and sitting on his desk.

“Do you want a second to clear your head?” He whispers playing with one of the little figurines.

Alec shakes his head and makes a move to slide between his legs like he normally does like he did _this morning_ , but he stops himself, not wanting to crowd him.

“Magnus, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me, but that was so out of line.” He rushes out.

The older man takes a deep breath and tries to meet his eyes, flicking away only after a second though. “Alec,”

He flinches again at the shortened version of his name.

“I understand you’re under a lot of pressure right now, and I’m sure Ragnor dropping the bomb on you like that in the middle of an interrogation didn’t help. That being said, you spoke out of anger back there, and I can’t help but think your words were meant to hurt me, do you agree?”

Once again he finds himself dropping his gaze, the disappointment weighing him down. “Yes, Magnus.”

“I thought so. If we’re going to continue having a relationship, intimate or professional, consider this your first and only warning that I will not be your punching bag when it’s convenient for you. You know I value communication very much, so when something is wrong, _please_ talk it through with me rather than blowing up when you’re upset.” 

He feels himself blushing, knowing that Magnus was right and that he very much deserved this scolding.

“Is there something you want to tell me though? Why you said those specific words?” Magnus was giving him a chance to explain, a chance to tell him about the thoughts he had about his previous partners.

Alec takes a seat on the couch, finding comfort in the familiar texture, “I don’t have a problem with your past or your partners. I need you to know that.” He starts off. “But sometimes I can’t help but think that I’m nothing special compared to them. They’re all interesting, adventurous, I’m just _me._ Hell, Etta’s a singer, Imasu’s a musician, Dot’s traveled to countries I can’t pronounce I just-.” He takes a breath before he gets overwhelmed again, “I get scared you’ll realize I’m not enough.” He confesses, still fiddling nervously.

The other man sighs and slides off his desk, coming around to straddle Alec’s lap, looping his arms around his neck. Thankful for the reassuring touches, the younger wraps his arm around his waist, holding him steady. “Alexander,” His heart skips a little beat at his full name, feeling the warmth finally come back. 

“I’ve always been honest with you about my partners, I’ve told you my views on commitment, and I’ll repeat what I told you last night. What I feel for you is new for me, the feeling of wanting to be with someone after so many years of not, it doesn’t scare me, and that’s why you’re different from everyone else I’ve been with.” Magnus kisses his forehead and uses his thumbs to rub against his cheeks, “When you left this morning, all I could think about was that if I could wake up to this every day, I’d be the happiest man alive.”

Alec’s breath is caught in his throat, his eyes getting dewey and sucking his lip to bite it. “I-I didn’t know. I thought I was the only one that felt this way and when you didn’t want to label it I thought it was, 'cause, you know, it wasn’t as serious for you as it was for me.”

The analyst sighs and kisses his forehead again, “You silly man, when have I ever given you any inclination that I wasn’t a part of this as much as you are? I didn’t want to label us so soon because I didn’t want to scare you off. I see now that I should’ve made sure you were okay with that first before deciding for us. I apologize, darling.”

Trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had yelled at and humiliated Magnus in the precinct, yet _he_ was apologizing, was confusing him. “Please don’t apologize, I could’ve brought it up just the same without blowing up like that out there.”

“That’s true too. I’m glad to see you’re growing.” He smiles and noses his jaw. “I would love to spend the rest of the day wrapped up with you, but Valentine is willing to give up Jonathan and still serve time. We better go show face.” He moves to stand up, and Alec does too before he stops and grips his chin tightly, “But if you ever try to slut-shame me, or say something as disrespectful as that again, I won’t hesitate to kick your ass and dump you.”

Alec nodded quickly, eyes wide but happy to know that they had settled things, “I swear I won't. And again I’m really sorry.” He pauses and quirks a little smile, “Can you dump me if we aren’t boyfriends?”

Magnus slides off his lap and holds a hand out for him to use to stand, “I can. But for the sake of any more miscommunication and station drama, I would very much like to be your boyfriend, Alexander.”

The detective stands, takes the outstretched hand, and pulls him close, finally pushing their lips together again. Their hands wrap around each other, and Alec smiles into the kiss, feeling like he just came home. 

When they finally pull away, Magnus just pats his chest, “Let’s go get ourselves a bad guy.” 

*

As expected, the federal prosecutor and Valentine’s team all agreed to the terms, each knowing that it was the best deal either was going to get. He, Lydia, and Fell were once again the one’s dealing, each of them playing their own version of hardball.

They all listen intently as Valentine relays the story in a deep, smooth voice. “Jonathan had come to me one day, told me he was tired of being used as my ‘errand boy’ as you all so eloquently call him,” He chuckles and leans back, a little too comfortable for Alec’s liking.

“I told him if he wanted a seat with the big boys, he was going to have to earn it. I built my empire from the ground up and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let my brat of an offspring try to take it from me.” He sighs trying to divert himself away from a tangent. “A few weeks later I sent him for a restock.” He points to the five girls, “Only rules are that they have to be girls who no one would care went missing. He purposefully went against that this time.” He growls, annoyed.

“He brought them to me one night, assured me none of them would be missed. We moved them to a secure location to be… _broken in.”_ Alec really wants to punch the smug look off his face.

“The next morning I found out he had taken them all. Told me I was going to regret not giving him a place at the table. Next thing I know that snitch of an FBI agent is telling me you all caught onto the cases, and that bodies were popping up with my signature on them.”

“You’re saying he tried to frame you?” Lydia asked, pausing from her note-taking.

Morgenstern nods slowly, “I believe that was the plan. Have the cops start sniffing around again and shaking up my people so he could come in and offer them solace.” He scoffs and shakes his head. “The bodies were also to serve as a threat. Give him a place, or he would make sure I fell.”

“Obviously I didn’t take his bluff, and now here we are.” He sighed in annoyance and a hint of defeat. He motions to his lawyer to give them something.

Penhallow slides over a file, simply labeled _J.M._ “This should be everything you need to take down Jonathan. Screenshots of him admitting to the crimes of the five girls, intimate details of what he did to them, and,” She pulls out a sticky note and hands it to Ragnor, “Where he’s hiding now.”

Ragnor immediately gives it over to Alec, who nods and exits the room, getting it to Lewis to look into right away.

Unsurprisingly, Lewis is sitting with Rapahel, both of them hunched into each other talking quietly. “Well if it isn’t the petulant brat. Give me one reason I shouldn’t punch your throat right now.” Raphael growled when he approached. 

Alec swallows hard and flicks his eyes to Lewis who can’t meet him, just keeping his gaze down. “Magnus and I talked it out. I apologized and we’re okay. I swear it won’t happen again.” He mumbled knowing that if he didn’t make good with Raphael his and Magnus’ relationship would be strained.

The Hispanic man just looks him up and down before rolling his eyes, and Alec guesses that it’s enough to put it behind them for now. “Morgenstern gave us this address, swears it’s where Jonathan is hiding out. I was hoping you might be able to pull whatever you can on it?” He hands it over to Lewis. 

Lewis perks up when he realizes he could be of help and happily takes the note, grabbing his laptop and rapidly typing away. 

He stands there awkwardly for a few minutes while Raphael just glares, and lets out an audible breath when Lewis starts talking again, “It looks like a cabin upstate, just next to Lake Lyn. The deed is under Sebastian Fairchild, quite unoriginal if you ask me.” He hits a button and the printer across the room comes to life. “It’s surrounded by miles of forest, the closest neighbor being a truck stop on the edge of the preserve. He’ll probably know you guys are coming before you make it to the cabin.” 

That was not the news he wanted to hear. “We don’t have a choice. I bet he knows those woods better than any of us, we can't wait for nightfall. I’ll bring this to Garroway and see if he can get us a warrant for a raid.”

Garroway and Fell manage to pull a few strings and get the warrant signed quickly enough that they still had enough time to assemble a tact team coupled with a few SWAT members. He, Santiago, Lydia, Garroway, and Fell also manage to get in on it this time, wanting to gather as much evidence as possible if this was his headquarters.

As they start loading in the vans, Magnus comes out, and when no one is looking he presses a kiss against his cheek, “You come back in one piece, you understand?” He whispers, linking one of their fingers together.

“Why wouldn’t I? Look what I have waiting for me,” Alec smirks and kisses the corner of his mouth again.

The van pulls away and Alec readjusts his bulletproof vest, a little in disbelief that barely three months into Brooklyn and this was his reality. Lydia is sitting next to him, texting something on her phone before stashing it away and turning back to him. “You figure everything out with Magnus?”

Alec huffs out a little disbelieving smile, “ I did. You gonna chew me out too?”

She shrugs, “I think Magnus can handle himself. I just want to make sure you stay happy.”

“Thank you.” He whispers and looks around the van, and sinks into the seats, trying to prepare himself.

Lewis wasn’t kidding when he told him how remote the cabin was. On the drive out there Alec saw nothing but trees, trees, and more trees, something he wasn’t used to growing up in Manhattan. Even from the road, he could tell how dense and deep the forest reached back, and if he had to be honest it scared him a little. When the number of cars started thinning out, he knew they were close, and was proven correct when theirs and the other van drove off the main road and into a little clearing. 

Doors opened and slammed as agents filtered out, each taking the time to get geared up properly. Garroway lays out a blueprint of the land and starts splitting up teams, deciding that the best course of action was to swarm the cabin so he couldn’t evade them.

With those orders they start to walk the rest of the way, using the forest as their cover. Alec followed the SWAT agent in charge of their sector, his nerves calm and collected as his finger lay straight against the side of his pistol. 

They crowded the house, his team in charge of infiltrating the cellar of the house. When they find nothing (Alec figures he just didn’t use it) they give the all-clear before making their way to the first level to meet the first team. 

Garroway and Fell look defeated as they stand around the empty room, literally _empty_ room. No furniture, no wallpaper, and the smell of bleach pungent. The agents just finished clearing the upstairs when they all met in the living room.

“It was a wild goose chase,” Garroway growls holstering his weapon. “He cleared out fast, it must’ve been recently.” He frowns looking at the sloppy job of the wallpaper tearing. 

“Maybe Valentine gave him a heads up? He gave us him per the deal but there was nothing saying he couldn’t warn him.” Fell mumbles. 

Lydia frowns, “But we had him in lockup the whole time? The only one that’s been able to see him is his lawyer.”

The men in charge just share an annoyed look with each other, “She must’ve tipped him off. She could’ve been one of the ones that are secretly team Jonathan.” 

Garroway rubbed a hand down his face, “Well there’s nothing here. Fell and I will stay with one team here and see if we can find any indication of how he kept them, and maybe he missed a spot or something. All detectives back to the precinct though, if he’s on the run we need to figure out where he might go next.” The officers of the 67 all nod and make their way back out to the vans. 

Alec’s head was in overdrive as they drove home, annoyed, and disappointed with how the day had played out. Somehow in the span of 24 hours, they had caught one of the most wanted men in the country, he had lost his virginity, he gained a boyfriend, then fought with him, and it was barely dinnertime. 

When they got back to the precinct, he stripped off his vest and was talking with Lydia when they went in, walking into a scene he never expected.

_“Hello, detective.”_

There in the middle of the precinct was Jonathan Morgenstern, snow-white hair, piercing black eyes, and a gun pressed to Magnus’ temple.

Immediately he and every agent behind him reached for their guns, but he just laughed and shook his head, “Keep them holstered gentlemen,” he winked at Lydia, “And ladies of course. Make one move against me and I decorate this disgusting precinct with pretty boy’s brains here.” He had an arm pressed up against Magnus’ neck, the analyst gripping it to pull it away.

“What the hell do you want, Morgenstern?” Alec growled, feeling ice in his blood, and hurriedly tried to think of a plan.

“So hostile, _Alexander._ What, I can’t come by and say hello?” He smirks, meeting his eyes, they were just as soulless as Alec expected.

“You can do that, just drop the gun and let Magnus go.” He flicked his eyes over to Magnus who seemed calm but his tense jaw was telling a different story. When their eyes met Magnus gave him a look and flicked his eyes to the man holding him.

“Afraid not, detective, see you have something of mine. As much as I despise the old man, I need to take him with me.”

“You really think we’re going to let you walk out of here with your father? You’re more delusional than I thought.” Lydia spits to his right.

“Not delusional, simply opportunistic. I need my father to take my claim to the throne, but I can’t do that if he’s here giving away locations to my hideouts and rolling over for pigs. Now listen closely, I trade dear Magnus here for my father, and once I’m through with him I promise to return him. More or less in pieces of course.”

Alec swallows hard, hand inching his way to his holster, hoping Lydia would keep the dialogue going. Almost like she read his mind she steps forward a little, hoping to hide his body behind hers.

“Can’t do that Morgenstern, but if you surrender now, we can figure out a deal. There’s a lot of missing pieces your dad isn’t telling us, help us out and we’ll make sure you can still have a life when you get out.”

Jonathan scoffs laughs a little, “Blondie you call that a deal? A deal is more like you let me take Sparkles here and my father, and I tell you all about _Lilith.”_

The word seems to throw her off, her eyes wide as she looks at him. Alec knows her interest is piqued, knows that when they have a lapse in cases she spends her time digging up what she can, hunting down every rumor to finally bring some justice to her late husband.

“Ah, didn’t think I knew anything about that didn’t you? Who do you think we went to when one of our girls got knocked up? Lilith was our _partner_. That’s right dear Lydia, when we found out you guys were getting close I joined your team, it was _me_ who set up the hit on your dear husband.” He laughed, his teeth showing and eyes gleeful, enjoying the pain his words inflicted on her.

“You son of a bitch.” She growled and stepped forward, but at the moment several things happened. Alec had met Magnus’ eyes and gave him a sharp quick nod, sending Magnus into action.

With one swift move, he brought his elbow down sharply, digging into Jonathan’s torso, loosening the arm around his neck. The distraction gave Alec enough time to draw his pistol, unclicking the safety and aiming it at Jonathan. 

Magnus had grabbed his arm holding the gun and held it straight up, but it didn’t stop Jonathan from pulling the trigger. A few of the officers ducked down to avoid strays but Alec kept his posture straight and attempted to keep his eye on a clear shot.

With Jonathan struggling against him, Magnus attempted to get him to drop the gun, bringing his arm over his knee and bringing it down with a scary amount of force. Jonathan wailed but wouldn’t drop it, shoving Magnus away and trying to point it at him again.

The distance was enough for Alec to aim and fire, deciding last second to shoot him in the shoulder. He let out another scream and dropped the gun, but still tried to fight back against Magnus. The shot severely weakened him though, letting Magnus get the upper hand and twist his arm to slam his torso on a nearby desk.

Just like that everyone seemed to snap out of their daze, several officers rushing to Sebastian while Alec and Santiago went to check on Magnus.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Alec asks, checking over his body, the only evident injury a large cut on his forehead that was bleeding. He brings his hands up to cradle his cheeks, “Are you okay?”

“Darling, I’m fine I swear, nothing a few stitches can’t handle.” Magnus assures wiggling out of his hold, “I’m a little shaken up, but I’ll be fine knowing he’s finally behind bars.” Santiago glares but hugs him tightly, _“Idiota.”_

Garroway and Fell come up next to them, both men panting a little and eyes wide with concern, “What the hell just happened?”

Magnus pulls away and smooths down his shirt, Alec noticing his hands are shaking the slightest bit. “A while after you left, I heard Penhallow talking on the phone, telling someone that you were coming. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew I had to stall and keep her away from Valentine and find a way to tell you. I succeeded for a while until Jonathan snuck up behind me. Apparently, they used the cabin as a distraction to get all of you out of the building so that they could bust Valentine out of here. You came in when I walked in on that.” He recites back as a few EMT’s crowd the office.

Alec is forced to move aside as Magnus starts getting poked and prodded, letting them do their job. He pats Magnus on the shoulder letting him know he was there for him but had to deal with the mess on the other side of the precinct. 

The precinct jumped into action after that, several officers accompanying Jonathan’s processing while others guarded Valentine and a few more to arrest Penhallow. Alec was ushered off by Garroway to write a report as procedure and turn in his gun. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be back in your hands before tomorrow night, it’s just protocol.” Alec nodded along but didn’t worry about it too much, knowing there were more than enough witnesses.

He feels a hand clap his shoulder, “You did well Lightwood, for your first major case here you sure proved yourself.”

“Thank you, Sir, but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Lydia or the guys. They deserve just as much recognition.” He tells him honestly.

“I’ll see to it they do. Take the day off tomorrow, son, you deserve it, both of you.” He winks and makes his way over to Fell. 

Alec blushes at the insinuation but tries to will it away as he makes his way back to Magnus arriving just as the EMT finishes the last stitch.

“Good as new?” Alec asks, coming to sit in front of him. 

Magnus just chuckles and looks around making sure no one was paying attention to them before lacing their fingers together, “Better now that you’re here. Everything okay paperwork wise? Lucian take your gun?”

“Mhm, and he told me that I should take the day off tomorrow. Both of us actually.” He whispers letting the pad of his thumb rub circles over his hand, “And you know someone has to make sure you’re okay, make sure those stitches stay in place.” He mumbles hoping he got the hint.

The older man quirks an eyebrow, “Are you asking to spend the night, Alexander?” The smirk donning his face is smug and playful.

“I am. We have both the Morgensterns behind bars, we have the day off, so I think it’s time we finally go to those botanical gardens.” He smiles a little bashfully. 

Magnus perks up at that and brightens up, “I would want nothing more, darling.”

He’s just about to stand when the door to the crash room opens, a yawning Jace with his shirt riding up and hair a mess comes out, “Hey, what did I miss?”

Alec looks at him in utter disbelief, before shaking his head waving his hand, “Jace Lightwood you’re a wonder of the world.” He grumbled and helped a laughing Magnus up. They still want to retain some form of professionalism so they don’t move to touch, but the second they’re down the street and around the corner, their hands can’t help but find each others’.

*

Once they got home, Magnus made a beeline for the shower, wanting to get all the grime off him and change into something comfortable. Alec tried not to stare too much when he came out shirtless and dripping but figures since they’re _boyfriends_ now it’s okay.

As he hears the water turning he can’t help but think that things were finally over, his first major case in Brooklyn was a hell of a ride and he oddly enjoyed it. He knows not all of them come together like this one did too much, but he thinks he’s prepared to take on whatever comes next.

The sound of water turning off snaps him back to reality, his head turning to see his boyfriend coming out, shirtless and still dripping, nothing but a towel to cover up his lower half.

When he gets caught ogling Magnus just rolls his eyes and grins, “Your turn, I’ll make us something to eat in the meantime.”

He stripped off his shirt and threw him back a smirk before making his getaway.

Magnus had made them something easy enough to eat, a huge pot of mac and cheese that Alec couldn’t help but laugh at. They filled their bowls with it and curled up on the couch, a bottle of beer in Alec’s hand and a martini in Magnus’.

“Did I tell you how amazing you were today?” Alec whispers once the bowls of mac and cheese are finished and stacked on the table, “Like I know you did tai chi, but I had no clue you could do that _._ Where did you learn?”

The question makes Magnus’s relaxed smile falter a bit, his eyes flicking away, “It’s a long story dear, and it has to do with my father. I’m comfortable with telling you if you’d like to listen.”

Hearing Magnus offer up stories of his past and of his childhood has Alec nodding quickly, eager to listen because while he told him he could wait, it didn’t mean he wasn’t curious. Regardless that Magnus was his therapist in the beginning, he always felt comfortable opening up to the man and hoped he could be the same for him.

“My father is Asmodeus Bane.” He whispers so quietly Alec almost missed it. 

Alec takes a sharp intake of breath as the realization hits. Before Valentine Morgenstern took over, the streets of New York belonged to Asmodeus Bane. Legend has it he’s been responsible for the assassinations of multiple public officials, prostitution rings, and being the biggest distributor of yin fen.

“My mother started working for him when she was young, she was a runaway and he offered her protection. She fell for it, he took advantage of her, here I am. When he found out she was pregnant he wanted to keep and own her. She hated the idea.” He wraps a blanket tighter around him, and Alec holds his hand for support.

“She didn’t want to be owned, but she also didn’t have a choice. Raising a kid on the streets it’s not realistic, so she accepted, and from that day forward her life was not hers. When I was old enough, I realized that for months she had been stealing and hiding any money she came across. I never understood why… Staying with Asmodeus meant that we had a bed, and food on our plate. I thought it was enough. Then one night-” His voice gets caught in his throat, his hand tightening around Alec’s.

“One night she told me she loved me, told me that no dream was ever really impossible and that it didn’t matter what I did in the world, as long as it made me happy, and then disappeared.” A few tears fell and Alec brushed them away, feeling his heart break a little.

“They found her floating in the Hudson a few days later.” Alec could tell from the strained voice that he was nearing a breaking point, and told him he didn’t have to continue if he didn’t want to.

Magnus shakes his head and takes a sip of the nearby cup of water, “No you deserve to know, and talking about it helps me process anyways.” He shivers and moves so he can curl into Alec, “Asmodeus raised me from there. He tried to turn me into his little protégé, he and my brothers, they made me, molded me into their little weapon. I realized then I wasn’t doing what my mom wanted for me. I ran away.”

“I hid out for a bit until the cops found me, that’s the night I met Ragnor. He was just a beat cop then, but he took me in, raised a thirteen-year-old for a few years, but he was more like my older brother than anything. When I turned eighteen a man found me, said he was a private investigator and that my mother had left me instructions.”

“Apparently before her death, all the money she had stowed away went into a trust fund, and it just sat there, collecting interest, and it was mine since I turned eighteen. But also in the instruction packet was a key. It turned out to be a key for a safety deposit box at a bank in Queens. In it was a dossier of evidence against Asmodeus for as many crimes she could get her hands on. I turned it all in to the police and used the money to get through college. I’m the reason Asmodeus Bane is behind bars.” He whispers the tears flowing freely now and shoulder shaking a little.

Alec tried to console him, hold him together as he shook, and let a few sobs out. He brings the water back to his lips and tries to calm him down. He lets him cry it out, rocking him gently until his breathing is normal and he’s stopped shuddering. 

“I knew you were amazing but now I think that word is too small for you.” He whispers, dragging Magnus into his lap, letting his back press against his chest. “Your mother would be proud of you, you know that right? You’re the heart and soul of the 67, brilliant, degrees up the wall.”

“And while I’m sorry you had a shitty childhood, I’m not sorry that it led to you being successful, or learning how to defend yourself.” He mumbles against his neck. “You’re one of the strongest people I know, Magnus, and if you ever need a reminder of that I will always be happy to tell you. Thank you for letting me in.”

Magnus doesn’t say much more that night, the day and its events taxing enough to lull him to sleep. Alec gets them ready for bed, and as they curl up together he can’t help but think how the past months have been such a wild ride. 

When he transferred over he never thought that it would lead him to meet someone so charismatic, witty, brilliant, kind—he really could go on and on. He thought the stuff about fairytales and soulmates were nothing but lonely people convincing themselves that their lives were more than it seemed. And while he doesn’t think it was a man that brought him to see clarity, or that one person is the reason he’s happy, he likes to think this man held his hand while he did some soul searching. 

It was true he was prepared to give up his happiness and future to put his family and their wishes first. A part of him still thinks that way and still seeks his parents’ approval. Things are just… different, now.

Now he had Magnus, a light he didn’t know he needed to guide him.

The thought of a forever used to scare him a little, mainly because the idea seemed so far and out of reach it was almost pointless to make it a goal. And while he doesn’t know if he’ll spend a year or the rest of his life with Magnus, it didn’t matter to him, he was prepared to take that chance. Because right now, he had a taste of what happiness is like. 

Granted it’s drooling on his chest a little, it was fine.

No matter what tomorrow or the next day throws at them, he knows he’ll have Magnus standing by his side, and that was enough.  
  
  


**Epilogue**

_3 Months Later_

Alec hated monkey suits.

He pulls and tugs at the tie Magnus had secured around his neck that morning before doing up his own.

“It’s court, Alexander.” He had said, “You take it off before you take the stand and we’re going to have a problem.” His voice was stern but his smile and the glint in his eyes gave it away. 

Valentine Morgenstern had pleaded guilty as per the stipulations of their deal. Jonathan on the other hand wanted to test his luck, despite the mountain of evidence against him and the precinct footage of him using Magnus as a poker chip. That meant all the officers involved were required to take the stand.

Thus the stupid tie.

Alec was due at the precinct first, as Garroway wanted to ensure all the officers were prepped beforehand. He and Lydia then rode over together, Lydia giving him more advice on taking the stand and letting him fall behind to handle his nerves.

He’s in the elevator alone, scratching his wrists when someone runs in and stops it from closing, “Well just my luck.” The honey-sweet voice chuckled, “Fancy running into you here,” His boyfriend smirked and let the elevator doors close behind him. 

“Fifth floor?” Alec asked, voice nonchalant despite the situation. 

“Yes, please.” The other grinned seemingly going along with it. He raises an eyebrow at the red wrists he knows he rubbed lotion on this morning. “Goodness, have you got a rash on your wrists?” 

Alec rolled his eyes good-naturedly and dropped his arms to his side. “Yeah, rough night.”

“Oh which reminds me.” Magnus reaches into his pocket and hands over a pair of shiny handcuffs. “You left these at mine last night.”

He takes the handcuffs, stares at them for a second, and shakes his head before handing them back, “Keep them, my wrists aren’t that sore.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow and quirked a smile, about to say something but instead just took the cuffs and tucked them into his pocket nonetheless. “Yours?”

Alec tilts his head back and forth, seemingly pondering the thought. “Ours?”

The other man blinks, the question throwing him off, especially paired with such a nonchalant attitude. It was just like Alec to bring up the idea of moving in so calmly on a Wednesday afternoon. He had known Alec was it for him the night of their first date. The two of them standing out on his balcony, looking over the New York skyline gave him a feeling of freedom, a word he never would have associated with relationships. Marriage was definitely on the table, when he wasn't too sure, but if this was the first step to their forever, who was he to ignore it? “Ours sounds perfect.” Magnus winks, his mind already racing with how he’s going to rearrange the loft.

The doors open and the two walk out, both needing to get to separate holding rooms.

“Wouldn’t miss it.” 

*

“We, the Jury, find the defendant Jonathan Morgenstern, guilty of all charges as presented.” The courtroom erupted in chaos, each side of it had people jumping and clapping excitedly, families of the five girls, prostitutes he had broken in, officers who worked tirelessly day and night.

In the crowd, Alec was celebrating with his team but immediately went to look for Magnus. The man in question seemed to have the same mission, and the two dodged everyone else until they found each other. And while they weren’t normally the type for PDA it seemed like everyone knew anyway, so he thought there was nothing to lose when he pressed their lips together.

He wonders if kissing Magnus will ever stop feeling like fireworks, or stop his heart from doing this weird cartwheel thingy.

He hopes it doesn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it!! Please leave comments and kudos if you enjoyed!!
> 
> Thank you again so much for all the love.
> 
> And maybe we'll see the boys around some other time.
> 
> Em.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's chapter 1! Comment and kudos if you liked or wanna leave some feedback!!
> 
> Thanks for reading and until next time,
> 
> em.


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